Kolkata, Jun 1: Asserting that the BJP government was not seeking revenge against the TMC, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said the CID sent a notice to MP Abhishek Banerjee following a complaint by two of his own party’s MLAs.
He said two TMC MLAs — Ritabrata Bandopadhyay and Sandipan Saha — complained to the Assembly Secretariat that their signatures in the party’s resolution for appointing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of opposition were forged. Immediately after the CM’s press conference, the Trinamool Congress expelled the two legislators from the party for “anti-party activities”.
“It may seem like vengeance to some, but we do not want to do any such thing since the party (TMC) is already defunct,” the CM said.
Abhishek Banerjee has alleged a political vendetta by the BJP government in the state over its actions.
Adhikari maintained that neither the BJP nor the government has any role in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sending a notice to Banerjee to appear before it on Monday in connection with its probe into the alleged forgery of signatures.
Mocking the TMC over its Falta candidate Jahangir Khan withdrawing from the contest two days before the repoll on May 21, he said, “This shows that the party is effectively defunct.”
Maintaining that the signatures were forged, Adhikari said, “I have asked the CID to take action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions for forgery.”
Adhikari said the CID gave a notice to Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, to appear before it on Monday with the resolution book.
The chief minister said the state’s DGP told him that Banerjee has sought more time to appear before the CID.
Adhikari said it is up to the CID to decide whether to grant anyone an extension due to illness or other issues, maintaining that he will not interfere.
Banerjee has, through his lawyers, sought an extension of time to appear before the CID, citing health-related issues.
Adhikari said that on May 9, in a letter to the Assembly Speaker, “the all India general secretary of regional party Trinamool Congress” wrote that veteran party leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay be appointed as the Leader of Opposition.
Enumerating the sequence of events leading to the CID investigation, Adhikari said that on May 18, on the order of the Speaker, the principal secretary of the Assembly, had written to Abhishek Banerjee to submit the minutes of the resolution for appointing Chattopadhyay.
On May 20, the TMC national general secretary sent a copy of the resolution with the signatures of 70 party MLAs, of which more than ten names are in block letters, Adhikari said, holding that signatures “cannot be block letters”.
The chief minister said that two TMC MLAs — Ritabrata Bandopadhyay and Sandipan Saha — complained to the Speaker, alleging “no resolution was adopted regarding the selection of the Leader of Opposition on May 6”.
Adhikari said the complaints alleged that the resolution dated May 6, 2026, was manufactured and fabricated, stating that as many as 14 signatures were in block letters.
“On the direction of the Speaker, the principal secretary filed an FIR at Hare Street police station, and on the direction of the Home secretary, with my approval as the state home minister, the investigation was handed over to the CID,” the chief minister said.
He said the CID questioned 13 TMC MLAs with video photography, accompanied by handwriting experts for signature verification, in connection with the probe.
Adhikari said TMC MLAs Baharul Islam of Canning Paschim, Chandranath Sinha of Bolpur, Arup Roy of Howrah Madhya, Tapas Maity of Domjur, Nayana Banerjee of Chowranghee, Tapas Mondal of Raidighi, Subhasish Das of Mahestala, Toraf Hossain Mondal of Kumarganj, Dinen Roy of Kharagpur, Kunal Ghosh of Beleghata, Abdul Aziz Doctor of Lalgola, Abdul Matin of Haroa and Tauseffur Rahman of Basirhat Uttar were questioned.
He said that three of these MLAs — Arup Roy, Baharul Islam and Subhasish Das — said the signatures were not theirs. (PTI)
