Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 1 : Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said on Monday that Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee were involved in "anti-party" activities, which led to their expulsion from the Trinamool Congress.
"They have been expelled due to their involvement in anti-party activities," Ghosh stated.
Following his expulsion from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), legislator Sandipan Saha launched a scathing attack on his former party, claiming that anyone who speaks of morality within the outfit is deemed to be engaging in "anti-party activity."
Speaking to ANI on his suspension, Saha expressed no regrets, stating that he was "quite pleased" to be ousted for upholding his ethical duties.
"In this party, anyone who speaks of morality will be deemed to be engaging in anti-party activity, simply because the party itself does not engage in any moral conduct," Saha told reporters.
"If, today, we have been suspended from the party for the sake of upholding morality, we are actually quite pleased. Performing moral acts is indeed the duty of every legislator, which is precisely what we have done."
When questioned about his future political moves and whether he intends to switch alignment to another political outfit, the expelled leader dismissed the speculation.
"No, there is nothing like that. Why would I think about that?" Saha added.
Meanwhile, the updates come amid a sharp political escalation, with Suvendu Adhikari launching a scathing attack on the TMC leadership over the case.
Addressing a press conference, Adhikari asserted that the law will take its own course under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and warned that "nobody who forged signatures will be spared."
Detailing the timeline of the controversy, Adhikari said that on May 9, the AITC National General Secretary sent a letter to the Assembly Speaker proposing Shovondeb Chattopadhyay as the LoP, Nayana Bandyopadhyay and Ashima Patra as deputy leaders, and Firhad Hakim as the chief whip. This was followed by another letter on May 20 bearing 70 signatures.
However, the process was challenged when two TMC MLAs, Rithabrata Bandhopadhyay and Sandipan Saha, lodged a formal complaint alleging that no such resolution had been adopted by the legislative party. Following the Assembly Speaker's intervention, an FIR was registered at the Hare Street Police Station, and the case was subsequently transferred to the CID.
"CID took signature samples from some MLAs whose names were in that letter. Three TMC MLAs, Baharul Islam, Arup Roy, and Subhashish Das, have confessed before the CID that they did not sign that document," Adhikari revealed, adding that the Investigating Officer will determine the next steps of the probe based on statutory guidelines.