Bengal CPI-M recommends expulsion of party MP Ritabrata Banerjee

Kolkata: The CPI-M's West Bengal State Secretariat on Wednesday recommended summary expulsion of party MP Ritabrata Banerjee on charge of serious breach of party discipline, sources said.

The recommendation, however, was not publicly announced as it has to be ratified by the party Central Committee, the sources said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist State Secretary Surjya Kant Misra refused to give details.

"You will come to know about the decision when it is publicly announced at the appropriate time. I have seen a lot of people come and go," he said.

The move came after the parliamentarian, in an interview with a television channel, had taken a dig at the party leadership and accused the leadership of being anti-Bengali.

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Rajya Sabha MP Banerjee has courted controversy in the past. He was suspended by the party on June 2 for three months over his alleged lavish lifestyle, being accused of spending Rs.69.25 lakh on travel expenses in a year.

The CPI-M West Bengal state committee had in August recommended punitive action against party Rajya Sabha member over lifestyle-related allegations. Mishra had said the three-member commission formed to look into the allegations found basis in the charges, though the final decision would be taken by the Central Committee.

The party had in February issued a "public warning" to Banerjee for threatening a party supporter who had raised questions in the social media about the source of funds of the young leader's expensive watch and pen.