‘Lavish Lifestyle, Moral Degeneration’ Behind Ritabrata Banerjee’s Expulsion: CPI(M)

Kolkata: The CPI(M) on Sunday justified the expulsion of Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee, saying the decision was taken because of his “grave anti-party activities, including moral degeneration in relation to women”.

Ritabrata was expelled from the party on Friday after being accused of leaking internal matters and discussions to the media and of leading a lavish lifestyle incompatible with that of a member of the party. The party said there were “serious inconsistencies between his income and expenditure.”

Politburo member and CPI (M) state secretary, Surya Kanta Mishra, said Banerjee was expelled under clause 19(13) of its constitution. “He was cautioned publicly on last February for breaking party discipline. He was asked to rectify his behaviour and refrain from misusing social media,” he said.

Mishra said that considering his anti-party and anti-communist role, the state secretariat on September 13 had recommended his expulsion. This was later endorsed by the politburo.

“During the state committee meeting on June 1 and 2, a three-member inquiry commission was formed to investigate four serious charges against him. The members found him outright guilty. We tried our best to help him rectify his issues, but he has continued to malign the image of the party,” he said.

The state secretary further said that Banerjee had maligned the party publicly during an interview with a TV channel on September 11 where he had talked about the personal and political differences within the party.

Recently, in a television interview, Ritabrata had said that the central CPI (M) leadership was anti-Bengali. He alleged that politburo members Prakash and Brinda Karat blocked general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s return to the Rajya Sabha.

He also slammed the central leadership by alleging that politburo member Mohammad Salim managed to get some space in party’s highest body because the politburo has a quota for Muslims. He accused Salim and his son, who is also a party member, of spearheading a social media campaign to malign him.