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Mamata Banerjee's party expels two MLAs a day after 61 of 80 skipped party meeting. Reason: 'anti-party activities'
On Sunday, the Trinamool Congress had to cancel a legislative party meeting after 61 out of 80 MLAs failed to turn up.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), on Monday, expelled two of its MLAs from the party for allegedly "repeatedly failing to attend meetings" and engaging in anti-party activities.
Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee are the two legislators who have been expelled.
This development comes a day after 61 out of 80 of TMC MLAs skipped legislative party meeting on Sunday.
"It has been brought to the notice of the All India Trinamool Congress through its competent authority that, despite having been elected as candidates nominated by the AITC, you have repeatedly failed to attend meetings convened by the authorised leadership of the party and have involved yourselves in anti-party activities," a communication addressed to the two MLAs said.
"It has also been observed that you have engaged in activities and made statements that are prejudicial to the interests of the AITC," the communication, signed by party vice-president Chandrima Bhattacharya, added.
Also Read | 61 of 80 Trinamool Congress MLAs skip Mamata Banerjee's legislative party meeting
After due consideration of the matter, the communication stated, the “competent authority of the AITC has decided to expel you from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect”.
Soon after being expelled from the party, Saha said that he is quite pleased if he and Banerjee have been suspended from the party for upholding morality.
"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... 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...", he told ANI.
TMC cancels meeting due to absence of 61 MLAs'
On Sunday, the TMC had to cancel a legislative party meeting after a large number of MLAs failed to turn up.
A total of 61 out of the 80 MLAs were absent from the TMC's legislative party meeting in Kolkata on Sunday, forcing its cancellation.
The meeting had been convened to discuss the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into the alleged forgery of MLAs' signatures on a letter nominating Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the assembly's Leader of Opposition.
The expulsion order came a day after West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari told a press conference at the state secretariat that Saha and Banerjee had lodged complaints in connection with the alleged "fake signature" case involving the TMC's endorsement of Chattopadhyay as the LoP.
However, on Sunday, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh defended the cancellation of the meeting, saying many MLAs could not attend because they were participating in protests against the alleged heckling of the party's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, on Saturday.
However, another TMC MLA, speaking on condition of anonymity, told HT that if Abdur Rahim Boxi, an MLA from Malda district, and Rukbanur Rahman from Nadia could make it to Kalighat, it remained unclear why Javed Ahmed Khan and Sandipan Saha, both Kolkata-based legislators, were conspicuous by their absence.
(With PTI inputs)
