CPI(M) suspends sitting MP for breach of party discipline
state unit of the Communist Party of India(Marxist) summarily expelled Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee from the party on disciplinary ground, even as the party has just nine members in the Upper House of Parliament.
Banerjee, 38, accused of maintaining a flashy lifestyle and having wealth disproportionate to his income, had also accused the leadership of being anti-Bengal and targeted politburo member Md Salim for maligning his image. As Banerjee is a sitting member of Parliament, the decision of the West Bengal state secretariat will have to be endorsed by the CPI(M)’s Central Committee, the highest executive body of the party, when it meets on 14-15 October in Delhi.
“The Central Committee is all set to endorse the decision,” said a source. The rebel communist, also launched a counter-offensive against the party after his bank statements were “illegally” downloaded to build a case against him. Banerjee has shot letters to party chief Sitaram Yechury and other leaders saying the statement was procured without his permission.
“But someone has to bell the cat. In one of the meetings of the disciplinary cell of the party, they showed me my bank statement for the last three months. I was shocked. How could they access my bank account without my permission?” Banerjee told HT.
Banerjee is the sixth prominent leader from Bengal to face the party axe in the recent past on disciplinary issues. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, state’s land reforms minister Rezzak Mollah, two former MPs Anil Basu and Lakshman Seth— all faced the ire of the Central leadership.
The expulsion also comes days after the party denied a third term for CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury from West Bengal.
While the expulsion of the young MP will further deplete the strength of the beleaguered CPI(M) sources close to Banerjee said he will take a fiercely active role in opposing the CPI(M) in the Rayja Sabha and may even support the BJP-ruled NDA. “As a young MP, he has to think about his political future. It’s clear that there is no room for him in CPI(M) anymore,” said a source.
Controversy surrounded Banerjee since February this year. After a party member criticised his flashing of Mont Blanc pen and Apple Watch, the Rajya Sabha member shot off a letter on his official letterhead to the company where he was employed demanding action against him.