Kolkata, June 3. Trinamool Congress (TMC) President Mamata Banerjee, who suddenly seemed to be falling apart after a major defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, got a big blow when the Assembly Speaker on Wednesday recognized rebel group MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition (LoP).
By Ritabrata 60 Claimed support of MLAs
Ritabrata Banerjee said in a statement, ‘Trinamool Legislature Party has a team of 58 MLAs who won the party election symbol, two more MLAs can also join our camp.’ He told that Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Shiuli Saha will be the deputy leaders of Trinamool Congress Legislature Party.
He further said, ‘We will oppose those policies of the Bengal government which we find wrong, but will not protest unnecessarily.’ At the same time, Trinamool MLA Akhruzzaman said that the party leadership did not follow the procedure in the election of the leader of the opposition.
Meanwhile, expelled TMC leader Sandipan Saha said, ‘We have just submitted the letter. The room earmarked for the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) has been officially allotted. The Leader of Opposition is still sitting there.
Mamata Banerjee should remain our advisor : Sandipan Saha
Sandipan Saha also said, ‘Our wish is that Mamata Banerjee should remain our advisor and keep giving us her advice, so that we, along with the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Whip, can run the party effectively inside the Assembly.’
Abhishek responsible for the bad condition of the party
However, taking aim at Mamata’s nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, Sandipan said that the bad condition of the party today is to some extent the failure of Abhishek Banerjee. After all, if you take credit when things go well, you should also take responsibility when things go wrong.
Prasun Banerjee said – Our political struggle against BJP will continue
On the other hand, TMC leader Prasun Banerjee said, ‘Our political struggle against BJP will continue without stop. Our ideological fight will continue. Apart from this, wherever necessary, our cooperation with the government as a responsible opposition will also continue.
Prasun Banerjee said, ‘What you are seeing today is not unusual. This only symbolizes that the majority of MLAs have collectively elected four leaders who will represent us in the Assembly and lead us.
He said that in a parliamentary democracy, it is necessary for both the ruling government and the opposition to be present in the House, communicate and participate in constructive debates. Therefore, all the MLAs of the Assembly collectively decided to take this step.
Meeting with Assembly Speaker during the day
Earlier in the day, in a move that completely changed the balance of power in the opposition camp in the House, Ritabrata Banerjee along with rebel MLA Sandipan Saha and other dissident MLAs met the Assembly Speaker and submitted letters of support signed by 58 MLAs. The rebel group had also proposed a new leadership structure, naming Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the opposition legislature party, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders and Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman as the chief whip.
Rebel TMC MLAs reach CM Shubhendu Adhikari’s meeting
At the same time, many senior leaders of Trinamool Congress, considered close to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, were present in the administrative review meeting held during the day under the chairmanship of West Bengal Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari. The development is being seen as a new political turn within the main opposition Trinamool, which is facing its biggest ever internal rebellion after its crushing defeat in the assembly elections.
Amidst rumors of a possible split in the Trinamool Legislative Party, MLA Nayana Bandopadhyay, considered an old loyalist of Mamata Banerjee, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, Ashok Dev and Kunal Ghosh attended the administrative meeting held at the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’.
Had kept distance from Mamta’s protest
Importantly, none of the MLAs who attended this meeting of the rebels were seen at Mamata Banerjee’s dharna in central Kolkata on Tuesday, which clearly shows the growing gap between the traditional leadership of the party and the disgruntled faction. The interesting fact is that many leaders belonging to the Kalighat (Mamata Banerjee’s residence) camp, including Hakim, Bandopadhyay, Dev and Ghosh, kept their distance from the rebels’ meeting held in the Assembly, but they definitely attended the Chief Minister’s administrative meeting.
Just days before this, senior Trinamool MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and six party MLAs had attended the administrative review meeting called by Subhendu Adhikari in Kalyani. Due to this, speculations had started regarding the changing equations within the opposition camp after the crushing defeat in the assembly elections.
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