Kolkata: Veteran Trinamool Congress leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay on Friday approached the Supreme Court on Friday seeking the disqualification of 10 rebel MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
The 10 MLAs whose disqualification had been sought include Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee and former Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor Firhad Hakim.
The petition was filed against Speaker Rathindra Bose for failing to make a decision, with the 10 rebel MLAs named as respondents.
The matter is likely to come up for hearing next week.
This is the second time Chattopadhyay has approached the apex court regarding the issue. In September this year, the veteran legislator moved the Supreme Court seeking the dismissal of these 10 rebel MLAs.
During the hearing on September 28, the Supreme Court stated that if any such application is submitted to the Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly, it must be disposed of within three months, expressing hope that the Speaker would adhere to this timeline.
The initial application was submitted to the Speaker on behalf of the Mamata Banerjee-led faction on July 8, making the three-month deadline October 8.
However, with no decision announced by the Speaker yet, the matter has been brought to the Supreme Court’s attention once again.
Apart from Ritabrata and Hakim, the other rebel MLAs whose disqualification has been sought are Sandipan Saha, Arup Roy, Shiuli Saha, Akhtaruzzaman, Sabina Yasmin, Rathin Ghosh, Biplob Mitra, and Javed Ahmed Khan. In addition, the Principal Secretary of the Legislative Assembly has been named as a party in the case. Chattopadhyay is seeking the dismissal of the MLAs under the Anti-Defection Act.
–IANS–
