In June, the West Bengal government started probing the operations of several cooperative banks in which Adhikari is a member of the managing board
Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly, was removed on Monday as chairman of the Contai Cooperative Bank Ltd in East Midnapore, his home district, in an emergency meeting of the bank’s board of directors, bank officials said.
The board members said rules do not permit a chairman to continue for more than three terms, each lasting three years. Adhikari had held the post since 2009.
Adhikari has been under intense scrutiny ever since he switched political allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the April-May assembly polls in which he defeated chief minister Mamata Banerjee at his Nandigram seat.
In June, the state government started probing the operations of several cooperative banks where Adhikari held a position in the managing board. Banerjee then alleged financial irregularities in several cooperative banks and claimed money was stashed in accounts held against fake names.
Adhikari got some relief on July 16 when the Calcutta high court ordered that an inspection of the book of accounts of Contai Co-operative Bank Ltd could be carried out by the state but no special audit will be allowed without the court’s permission.
The special audit was ordered by the state government on June 12 and the bank’s board, which was then headed by Adhikari, challenged the order in court. The bank’s lawyer told the court that only the Reserve Bank of India had the power to conduct any audit.
In her July 16 order, justice Sampa Sarkar, said the reasons for the special audit had not been disclosed in the notice issued to the bank, and allowed an inspection with regard to non-compliances detected in the statutory audit report for 2019-20. She also asked the bank to cooperate with the state. HT has seen a copy of the court order.
Adhikari’s removal from the bank’s board triggered a political slugfest on Tuesday.
While Adhikari did not comment on the issue, Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “Under the TMC regime, even God will be made to look like a demon if he leaves the ruling party. This is vindictive politics. Adhikari will seek legal recourse.”
Akhil Giri, state fisheries minister and Adhikari’s archrival in East Midnapore, said, “The court said that inspection of records can be carried out. How can it be done with Adhikari continuing as the chairman? Hence, he was removed from the board by the other members.”
Adhikari is under pressure on several fronts.
He and his youngest brother Soumendu have been accused of stealing relief materials in East Midnapore. He has moved the Calcutta high court to seek relief.
Also, the criminal investigation department (CID) has started a probe into the death of Adhikari’s former bodyguard Shubhabrata Chakraborty who died from a gunshot injury in 2018. The family has now alleged foul play.
CID teams have questioned members of Adhikari’s family, including Dibyendu Adhikari, the BJP leader’s brother and TMC Lok Sabha member from the district’s Tamluk Lok Sabha seat. Their father, Sisir Adhikari, is the TMC Lok Sabha member from Contai.
The TMC has petitioned Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla for Sisir Adhikari’s disqualification under anti-defection law as he shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the recent election campaign. The Lok Sabha speaker has initiated an inquiry.
