Kolkata, Aug. 5 -- TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged that the BJP government had handed control of key Assembly standing committees to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel TMC faction, which he described as the BJP's "B-team", while sidelining the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC's legislative leadership.
Ghosh claimed that the committees were constituted without any consultation with the leaders of Mamata-led faction.
He described the appointment of rebel TMC MLA Kanaia Lal Agarwal as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as a "mockery" of parliamentary conventions. Ghosh alleged that the BJP was showing favouritism towards the rebel faction after Agarwal was appointed chairman of the PAC in the Assembly.
According to Ghosh, 41 standing and House committees have been formed in the West Bengal Assembly, and among the 10 committees allotted to the Opposition, nine have gone to legislators aligned with the Ritabrata Banerjee faction.
He alleged that senior leaders who could have effectively challenged the government's policies were deliberately sidelined.
Ghosh said former Speaker Biman Banerjee had been accommodated in the Library Committee, while veteran legislators such as Sovandeb Chattopadhyay and Ashok Deb were not given a single chairmanship. He accused the government of political vendetta and authoritarian functioning.
He further alleged that the Home Committee, which is responsible for overseeing police and administrative functioning, had been packed with members who were supportive of the government. According to him, the objective was to prevent scrutiny of alleged police excesses and government failures.
At the same time, he supported the inclusion of ISF MLA Naushad Siddique in a standing committee, saying he could have been entrusted with an even more significant responsibility.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.