Kolkata, June 20 (IANS) The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police on Saturday questioned senior Trinamool Congress legislator Sovandeb Chattopadhyay for nearly an hour in connection with its ongoing investigation into alleged discrepancies in signatures on a crucial resolution related to key positions in the West Bengal Assembly.
CID officers visited Chattopadhyay’s residence in the afternoon as part of the probe into allegations that the signatures of several Trinamool Congress legislators on the resolution did not match their original signatures. The resolution concerned appointments to important Assembly posts reserved for the Opposition bench.
Speaking to reporters after the questioning, Chattopadhyay said he had assured investigators of his full cooperation.
“I have clearly informed the CID officers that, as a responsible member of the West Bengal Assembly, I am ready to extend all possible cooperation to the investigation. At the same time, I urged them to also investigate those whose allegations led to the initiation of this probe. That is important because the very people raising these questions today were present when the resolution was signed,” Chattopadhyay said.
The CID initiated the investigation last month after complaints surfaced regarding alleged mismatches in the signatures of certain Trinamool Congress MLAs on a resolution submitted to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose.
The document had proposed the appointment of Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayna Bandopadhyay as Deputy Leaders of the Opposition, and Firhad Hakim as the Chief Whip of the Trinamool Legislature Party in the Assembly.
The alleged discrepancies were first flagged by legislators Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, prompting the CID to launch a formal inquiry.
Soon after the allegations emerged, the Trinamool Congress suspended Banerjee and Saha. The development triggered a revolt by 60 legislators led by the officially recognised Leader of the Opposition, who submitted a fresh resolution claiming majority support within the Trinamool Legislative Party.
The Speaker subsequently accepted the new resolution, following which Ritabrata Banerjee was formally recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
–IANS
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