CID notice to Abhishek Banerjee based on complaints by TMC legislators: CM
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari defended the CID probe into alleged forged signatures in a TMC resolution, saying it stemmed from complaints by party MLAs. He denied allegations of political vendetta and called for action under forgery laws
Kolkata: Asserting that the BJP government was not seeking revenge against the TMC, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said the CID sent a notice to MP Abhishek Banerjee following a complaint by two of his own party’s MLAs.
He said two TMC MLAs — Ritabrata Bandopadhyay and Sandipan Saha — complained to the Assembly Secretariat that their signatures in the party’s resolution for appointing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of opposition were forged. Immediately after the CM’s press conference, the Trinamool Congress expelled the two legislators from the party for “anti-party activities”.
“It may seem like vengeance to some, but we do not want to do any such thing since the party (TMC) is already defunct,” the CM said. Abhishek Banerjee and some other TMC leaders have alleged a political vendetta by the BJP government in the state over its actions.
Adhikari maintained that neither the BJP nor the government has any role in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sending a notice to Banerjee to appear before it on Monday in connection with its probe into the alleged forgery of signatures.
Mocking the TMC over its Falta candidate Jahangir Khan withdrawing from the contest two days before the repoll on May 21, he said, “This shows that the party is effectively defunct.”
Maintaining that the signatures were forged, Adhikari said, “I have asked the CID to take action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions for forgery.” Adhikari said the CID gave a notice to Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, to appear before it on Monday with the resolution book.
The chief minister said the state’s DGP told him that Banerjee has sought more time to appear before the CID.
Adhikari said it is up to the CID to decide whether to grant anyone an extension due to illness or other issues, maintaining that he will not interfere. Banerjee has, through his lawyers, sought an extension of time to appear before the CID, citing health-related issues.
Adhikari said that on May 9, in a letter to the Assembly Speaker, “the all India general secretary of regional party Trinamool Congress” wrote that veteran party leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay be appointed as the Leader of Opposition.
Enumerating the sequence of events leading to the CID investigation, Adhikari said that on May 18, on the order of the Speaker, the principal secretary of the Assembly, had written to Abhishek Banerjee to submit the minutes of the resolution for appointing Chattopadhyay. On May 20, the TMC national general secretary sent a copy of the resolution with the signatures of 70 party MLAs, of which more than 10 names are in block letters, Adhikari said, holding that signatures “cannot be in block letters”.
The chief minister said that two TMC MLAs — Ritabrata Bandopadhyay and Sandipan Saha — complained to the Speaker, alleging “no resolution was adopted regarding the selection of the Leader of Opposition on May 6”. Adhikari said the complaints alleged that the resolution dated May 6, 2026, was manufactured and fabricated, stating that as many as 14 signatures were in block letters.
“On the direction of the Speaker, the principal secretary filed an FIR at Hare Street police station, and on the direction of the Home secretary, with my approval as the state home minister, the investigation was handed over to the CID,” the chief minister said. He said the CID questioned 13 TMC MLAs with video photography, accompanied by handwriting experts for signature verification, in connection with the probe.
Adhikari said TMC MLAs Baharul Islam of Canning Paschim, Chandranath Sinha of Bolpur, Arup Roy of Howrah Madhya, Tapas Maity of Domjur, Nayana Banerjee of Chowranghee, Tapas Mondal of Raidighi, Subhasish Das of Mahestala, Toraf Hossain Mondal of Kumarganj, Dinen Roy of Kharagpur, Kunal Ghosh of Beleghata, Abdul Aziz Doctor of Lalgola, Abdul Matin of Haroa and Tauseffur Rahman of Basirhat Uttar were questioned. He said that three of these MLAs — Arup Roy, Baharul Islam and Subhasish Das — said the signatures were not theirs.
Pointing to the cancellation of a TMC MLAs’ meeting at party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence owing to alleged poor attendance, he asserted that there is no chance of the party’s revival given what they “have done in West Bengal”. Maintaining that the people of the state have shunned the TMC, Adhikari said they will find no one to join any of their meetings and rallies.
“They (TMC) are not in the current government’s agenda; it is on the basis of complaints from their MLAs that an FIR was filed, where neither the assembly secretary nor the Speaker have any role,” the chief minister said.
Maintaining that three of the 13 TMC MLAs questioned have already stated that the signatures are not theirs, Adhikari said, “The police will work as per the provisions of the BNS.” “The investigators will take a call on their proceedings for those who cooperate with the probe and decide what to do as per law about those who do not,” he said. Stating that the BJP government has established the rule of law in the state and not law of the ruler, he said those who have indulged in the alleged act of “forgery of signatures” will not be spared.
An NHRC-appointed probe committee into post-poll violence in West Bengal after the 2021 assembly elections, which the TMC won had stated in its report that the law of the ruler prevailed in the state and not the rule of law.
He said that the “sender” of the resolution to the Speaker will have to answer why the “forgery was done”. The chief minister said that to ensure proper investigation under the BNS, the investigation was handed over to the CID.
“The TMC has not only deceived the people of the state, but also its own MLAs, having forged the signatures of its representatives in the assembly,” he said.
“What has been found in the primary investigation into the matter is concerning. The investigation must be done to find out who forged the signatures,” he said. Adhikari said the Speaker will decide on the issue of the leader of the opposition based on the TMC resolution and the minutes of the meeting.
