Big rejig in Bengal Assembly, Mamata Banerjee camp ousted from Business Advisory Committee, Ritabrata’s camp gets the upper hand

State Bureau Kolkata:The Business Advisory Committee, the most important committee entrusted with the task of deciding the proceedings and legislative agenda of the Assembly, has been reconstituted with major changes after the change of power in Bengal.

The new committee has completely excluded the Trinamool Congress MLAs who are supporting Mamata Banerjee, while the influence of the MLAs who support the party’s rebel faction and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Ritabrata Banerjee, has clearly increased. Political activity heated up Wednesday with the release of the list of this new committee formed June 19th.

This is being seen in political circles as a shift in the balance of power in the Assembly. This important committee also has legislators from the Left, Congress and ISF, which is significant and further strengthens the role of opposition parties.

Indeed, the Business Advisory Committee is recognized as one of the most important committees in the operation of the Legislative Assembly. The committee determines when the Assembly session begins, how long it will last, what issues will be discussed, what bills are introduced, and how much time will be allotted for discussion. In short, this committee has the entire Assembly work plan under its control.

The new committee has 19 full-time members.
The new committee includes 19 full-time members. They are Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, Chief Whip of the Opposition Akhruzzaman and Chief Whip of the ruling party and BJP MLA Amalan Bhaduri.

Besides several other MLAs, Dilip Ghosh, Nishith Pramanik, Agnimitra Pal, Deepak Burman, Tapas Roy, Shankar Ghosh, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, Swapan Dasgupta and Sharadavat Mukhu among cabinet ministers have been appointed as full-time members. Significantly, their faction’s hold has been further consolidated by the appointment of former ministers Biplab Mitra and Samir Kumar Jana, both considered close to Ritabrata Banerjee, as full-time members.

Opposition parties also got representation in committee
The list of invited members of the committee is also generating a lot of discussion. It has Naushad Siddiqui, the lone ISF MLA from Bhangar, Mohtab Sheikh of Congress, Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman, the lone CPI(M) MLA and Humayun Kabir, president and MLA of Janata Unnayan Party. Thus, for the first time, the committee has given equal weightage to all the four opposition forces—the Left, the Congress, the ISF and the Janata Unnayan Party.

Besides this, BJP MLAs Bankim Chandra Ghosh, Partha Sarathi Chattopadhyay, Sudip Kumar Mukherjee and Arun Haldar have also been made invitee members.

This isn't a mere administrative change.
“This is not an administrative decision,” said a senior MLA, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “but a clear indication of shifting the centre of power in the assembly.” The total sidelining of pro-Mamata MLAs and the consequent rise of all opposition parties including the Ritabrata camp, points towards a huge political battle and a new formula in the coming assembly sessions.

This change in Bengal politics is being seen as a contest of strength within Trinamool and a fresh equation in the Assembly.