The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has expelled two of its MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, over allegations of anti-party activities.
A senior party leader confirmed the development, saying that both MLAs have been informed about the decision through email and WhatsApp. The Assembly Speaker has also been notified about the matter.
In connection with the alleged fake signature case in the Assembly, West Bengal Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari addressed the media at the Secretariat on Monday.
During the press conference, he said that these two TMC MLAs had submitted a written complaint to the Assembly Speaker regarding the incident. Following this, the Assembly Secretariat filed a complaint at Hare Street Police Station.
Chief Minister Shubhendu said that after receiving the complaint, he ordered a CID investigation into the matter.
The controversy is related to allegations that some signatures on a letter supporting the selection of Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly were forged. Questions were raised after the names of several MLAs appeared on the letter despite their alleged absence, prompting the Assembly Secretariat to approach the police.
The CID is now investigating the matter. It is alleged that signatures of some MLAs were forged even though they were not present in the Assembly on that day.
Within fifteen minutes after Chief Minister Shubhendu’s press conference ended, the Trinamool Congress decided to expel Uluberia East MLA Ritabrata Banerjee from Howrah and Entally MLA Sandipan Saha from Kolkata.
After his expulsion, Sandipan told reporters, “The party supports those involved in unethical activities. We did not even know that signatures on the attendance register would be shown as signatures on a proposal.”
Ritabrata Banerjee was sent to the Rajya Sabha by the CPM in 2014, with his term scheduled until 2020. However, in 2017, he was expelled from the party on various grounds.
For three years, he remained an independent MP. Later, the Trinamool Congress sent him to the Rajya Sabha for a short term through a by-election, and he was again made a candidate in the recently held elections.
