Kolkata: Former Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay on Thursday joined the BJP here in presence of its state chief Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. He has vowed to work for the end of the Trinamul Congress-rule in the state.
Mr Majumdar and Mr Adhikari hailed him for his decision. Within hours, chief minister Mamata Banerjee warned Mr Gangopadhyay of facing the “people’s verdict” in future. After joining the BJP, the former judge said: “I have stepped into a new world which has great leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and others whose advice I will need every moment.”
He elaborated: “I want to work as a disciplined party worker. I’m bound to follow whatever responsibility my party will give me. Our main job is to start the beginning of the end of a corrupt party and government in the state from the upcoming Lok Sabha election so that it doesn’t come to power again in 2026.”
Mr Gangopadhyay added: “The BJP needs to come to power in Bengal. As a Bengali, I feel pained in seeing Bengal lagging behind gradually. That is why I joined a national party to start a serious and strong fight.” He, however, was silent about his chance to contest the Lok Sabha polls and refused to take questions from the media.
Attacking Mr Gangopadhyay, the TMC supremo later accused him of exposing his political tilt during his service in the judiciary. She alleged at a TMC rally in Esplanade: “Sitting on the chair of a judge, a BJP babu announced (he was) joining BJP. Will the people look upto him and get justice from him? Every day the BJP feeds such people pills for what to judge.”
Ms Banerjee claimed: “Whatever BJP is saying is being done. I can't speak against a judge but talk about a judgment. After all, I’m also a practising lawyer. We know what is right or wrong according to the law. People often joke that the way dangerous verdicts are issued in Kolkata … it will force the Royal Bengal tigers to flee. I told them such people are bigshots.”
She alleged: “But I'm happy that their masks have come off. He (Mr Gangopadhyay) became a heavyweight leader by snatching thousands of jobs. He also addressed rallies, gave TV interviews and abused Abhishek (nephew) by naming him daily. Now where did you go? People will give their verdict to you from tomorrow. Get ready for that.”
The TMC chief also threatened to mobilise the young job aspirants, whose appointments were cancelled by Mr Gangopadhyay during his tenure as a judge in the teachers’ recruitment scam, to fight him wherever he would contest the polls from.
