TMC to move Calcutta high court against Ritabrata Banerjee's recognition as LoP

KOLKATA: Escalating its battle against the rebel faction, the TMC will approach the Calcutta high court against assembly speaker Rathindra Bose's decision to recognise Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the opposition.The party has termed the Speaker's move illegal and is expected to file its petition on Monday.The legal challenge comes days after 58 of TMC's 80 MLAs backed Ritabrata Banerjee and successfully 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.TMC leaders argue that an expelled member cannot be recognised as Leader of the Opposition and are expected to question both the Speaker's interpretation of party rules and the legality of the appointment before the Calcutta high court.Speaking to news agency ANI on Friday, Ritabrata Banerjee said he had not been in touch 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 had claimed that more than two-thirds of 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 chapter in an unprecedented crisis for 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 simultaneously sought to retain Mamata Banerjee as a guiding figure, exposing divisions within the dissident bloc itself.