Mamata-led TMC moves Calcutta HC against Assembly Speaker's decision to recognise Ritabrata as LoP

The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC on Monday moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the West Bengal Assembly Speaker's decision to recognise Ritabrata Banerjee, leader of a breakaway faction of the party, as the leader of the opposition. Seeking an urgent hearing, the TMC's lawyer stated before the court that the first session of the 18th West Bengal Assembly is scheduled to begin on June 18. Justice Krishna Rao, before whom the matter was mentioned on grounds of urgency, directed that the petition be taken up for hearing at the top of the list on June 11. He directed the petitioner's lawyer to serve notice to the parties in the matter in the meantime. The petitioner's lawyer told the court that the Speaker of the House is the main respondent in the petition. In a major setback for the TMC, 58 of its 80 MLAs had backed Ritabrata Banerjee for the post of leader of the opposition, rejecting the party's official nominee Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay. In the recent Assembly elections, the BJP won 207 seats, while the TMC secured 80.