Not satisfied with the unmitigated atrocities meted out right under her watch, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is on a mission to overturn the Nandigram verdict where her bete-noire Suvendu Adhikari won by a whisker thereby delivering a humiliating defeat to Banerjee. As Mamata knocks the doors of the judiciary to over turn the verdict, TMC has accused Justice Kausik Chanda who is hearing her plea, of being a BJP man, leading to a fierce rebuke from the honourable judge.
Mamata’s lawyer on Wednesday filed an application before the single-judge bench of Justice Chanda, asking him to recuse himself from the case. Earlier, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien alleged that Chanda as an advocate has represented the BJP against the state government in several cases dated 2012, 2013, 2014 till 2018.
Chanda’s previous stint was as Additional Solicitor General of India on April 09, 2015 and held that position till September, 2019 post which he got elevated to the Calcutta High Court’s Bench as an Additional Judge.
Banerjee’s counsel wrote to the secretary of the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, seeking reassignment of Banerjee’s petition as the CM was made aware that Justice Kausik Chanda, who is hearing her plea, was “an active member of the BJP”.
Justice Chanda responding to Mamata’s allegations stated that she as a petitioner has every right to demand the replacement of any judge which will be decided under the judicial system. Mamata’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi and SN Mukherjee urged Justice Chanda to step down on his own to avoid a conflict of interest.
However, Justice Chanda pointed out that Banerjee’s counsel – Abhishek Manu Singhvi is affiliated with the Indian National Congres and SN Mukherjee has connections with the BJP.
He added that if the lawyers from other political backgrounds can be trusted, why can’t the petitioner (Mamata Banerjee) trust the judge?
Earlier in May, the Supreme Court sought response from the Mamata-run West Bengal government and police on the post-poll violence in the state that reportedly resulted in a mass exodus of lakhs of people, including women and children. The Supreme Court had given up to June 7 to the state government and police to file counter-affidavits, explaining the allegations of inaction by state authorities in curbing the violence.
Mamata and TMC are on a mission to portray that the entire system is run by the BJP who is using its machinery to put Mamata in trouble. Effectively, Mamata wants to show herself as someone who despite all the ‘atrocities’ faced by her is challenging the Modi government as she plans to run for the post of Prime Minister come 2024.