Will BJP Contest the Bengal Assembly's Challenge to the Calcutta HC's Ruling on Mukul Roy's MLA Status?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- BJP plans to legally contest the Assembly's actions.
- The Calcutta High Court recently annulled Mukul Roy's MLA status.
- Ambika Roy is actively involved in the legal preparations.
- The situation reflects ongoing political tensions in West Bengal.
- Future developments may impact regional politics significantly.
Kolkata, Nov 18 (NationPress) BJP's West Bengal unit is gearing up to contest any initiative by the state Assembly Secretariat to appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the ruling of a division bench from the Calcutta High Court that annulled Mukul Roy's membership in the Assembly.
Reports indicate that the state Assembly secretariat has begun consultations with legal experts, including Kishor Datta, the state Advocate General, to consider potential legal responses to the Calcutta High Court decision. In parallel, the BJP's legislative team has commenced its preparations.
Ambika Roy, the BJP legislator from the Kalyani Assembly constituency in Nadia district, confirmed the party's stance, stating that should the Assembly choose to escalate the matter to the Apex Court, the BJP will also respond accordingly.
"We are also engaging legal experts on this issue. The Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, will detail our subsequent actions," he noted.
Ambika Roy, alongside the opposition leader, previously approached the Calcutta High Court to affirm Mukul Roy's membership in the Assembly.
On November 13, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, led by Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi, not only invalidated Roy's membership but also overturned the Speaker's previous decision to maintain it.
Roy, who was once the General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress, transitioned to the BJP ahead of the 2021 West Bengal elections and successfully ran as a BJP candidate in the Krishnanagar (Uttar) Assembly constituency.
However, shortly after the election results, he rejoined the Trinamool Congress. Despite this, he retained his position in the Assembly as a BJP legislator.
The Assembly Speaker had denied the BJP's request for Roy's membership to be canceled, asserting that since Roy was officially aligned with the BJP, his membership could not be revoked.
Following this, the BJP sought the Calcutta High Court's intervention to annul Roy's membership as a legislator representing the Krishnanagar (Uttar) constituency.
After extensive hearings, the Calcutta High Court division bench ultimately canceled Roy's Assembly membership on November 13.