Bengal CPI (M) seeks party MP Ritabrata Banerjee's expulsion for breach of discipline

The West Bengal unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has recommended the expulsion of its Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee for breach of party discipline.

Indrajit Kundu  | Posted by Sanjay Nirala
Kolkata, September 13, 2017 | UPDATED 20:53 IST
Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee (Photo courtesy: Facebook)Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee (Photo courtesy: Facebook)

Highlights

  • 1
    CPM has recommended expulsion of its Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee for breach of party discipline.
  • 2
    He was earlier suspended for three months in June over allegations of "lavish lifestyle".
  • 3
    The Central Committee of CPI(M) will meet in Delhi on October 14.

The West Bengal unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has recommended the expulsion of its Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee for breach of party discipline. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party's Bengal State Secretariat in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Banerjee was earlier suspended for three months in June over allegations of "lavish lifestyle" and misconduct after images of him sporting a Mont Blanc pen and an Apple smart watch went viral on social media. CPI(M) had formed a three-member inquiry committee headed by party's Lok Sabha MP Md Salim which submitted its report last month.

Facing possible disciplinary action, Banerjee, in a sudden outburst this week, spoke out against the party's central leadership accusing a section of being "anti-Bengal".

"Someone had to bell the cat. And I decided to bell it," Banerjee tweeted on Wednesday while taking potshots at former general secretary Prakash Karat, senior politburo members like Md Salim and Brinda Karat. "Party is mine, party is yours, party doesn't belong to one," the MP lashed out on social media.

The 38-year-old parliamentarian accused Karat's of stonewalling re-nomination of party general secretary Sitaram Yechury to the Rajya Sabha for a third consecutive term. Accusing politburo member Md Salim and his son for spearheading a social media campaign against him, the rebel MP said that Salim had been inducted into the politburo purely under the Muslim quota. The Central Committee of the CPI(M) will not take a final call on whether to expel the MP from the party when it meets in Delhi on October 14.

According to a recent RTI response, the CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP was found to be have incurred highest expenditure as per records of his Travel Allowance (TA) and Dearness Allowance( DA). Banerjee has reportedly claimed a whopping Rs 69.24 lakh as TA and close to Rs 14 lakh as DA during his tenure.

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