TMC moves Calcutta high court against Speaker’s decision appointing Ritabrata Banerjee as LoP

KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday moved the Calcutta high court challenging Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose's decision to appoint Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition instead of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.The matter was mentioned before the bench of Justice Krishna Rao by advocate Sirsanya Banerjee. Chattopadhyay is the petitioner in the case, and the hearing has been scheduled for June 11.The legal challenge comes days after 58 of the TMC's 80 MLAs backed Ritabrata Banerjee and staked claim to the opposition benches in the West Bengal Assembly.The Speaker accepted the claim, ruling that the expulsions of Ritabrata Banerjee and rebel MLA Sandipan Saha were not valid under the party's constitution.The TMC has termed the Speaker's decision illegal and is expected to argue before the court that an expelled member cannot be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition. The party is also likely to question the Speaker's interpretation of its constitution and the legality of Banerjee's appointment.Speaking to news agency ANI on Friday, Ritabrata Banerjee said he had not been in contact with MPs over the past week and declined to speculate on future political developments."I have not spoken to any parliamentarians in the last seven days. So I can't say what parliamentarians would do. But I live in the now. Nobody can say what will happen tomorrow. Have patience. A lot can happen," he said.Earlier, Banerjee claimed that more than two-thirds of the TMC's elected MLAs had backed his faction and that the Speaker had accepted their claim as the "principal opposition" in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly.The court move marks the latest development in the political crisis facing the 28-year-old party founded by Mamata Banerjee. While the rebel camp has projected its revolt as a challenge to the growing influence of Abhishek Banerjee within the organisation, it has also continued to project Mamata Banerjee as a guiding figure, highlighting divisions within the dissident group.