BJP leader Suvendu not to attend Lokayukta meeting chaired by Bengal CM Mamata

The meeting, scheduled for December 1 at Nabanna, is part of the annual institutional review held under the CM’s leadership.

By established convention, the Leader of the Opposition is invited as a member of the Lokayukta Committee. But Adhikari has skipped every such meeting since becoming LoP in 2021.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Nandigram MLA said, “I will not attend the Lokayukta meeting. I will write to them explaining my reasons. I will not sit with a chief minister, who is heading a corrupt government,” he said, reiterating that he had already conveyed his decision to his office staff.

He sharpened his attack further by invoking the recent assault on BJP MP Khagen Murmu in Malda.

“After seeing Murmu drenched in blood, no sane person can sit next to those who have the blood of BJP workers on their hands. It is impossible to smile for photographs with them,” he said, adding that the ruling party had no moral authority to convene such meetings.

Adhikari also used the occasion to revisit corruption allegations against senior TMC leaders.

“Members of Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet — Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriya Mallick — and several MLAs have been chargesheeted. Under the law, she must report these cases to the Assembly. She never does. She only sends a casual letter during appointments,” he claimed.

“If Chief Secretary Manoj Pant doesn’t get an extension, he might suddenly be seen in the Human Rights Commission. This is how the Constitution is being mocked,” he added, attacking what he called the “opaque and partisan” manner of statutory postings.

The BJP leader said his boycott extended to all meetings chaired by the chief minister.

“For four years, I have not attended any meeting with the CM. Whether it is the appointment of Information Commissioners, formation of the Lokayukta or any statutory process, I stay away. There is no question of legitimising unconstitutional practices,” he said.

A senior TMC leader and MLA, however, said Adhikari’s decision not to attend the meeting reflects how the BJP has mixed up administrative meetings with politics.

“They talk about fighting corruption but don’t want to attend meeting on Lokayukta committee meeting. This only reflects the double standards of the BJP, ” a senior TMC MLA said.

Political observers say the latest confrontation is part of a larger strategic build-up by both sides as Bengal moves toward a highly polarised election most possibly in April-May.

With controversies around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleged BLO deaths, and accusations of pressure on field officials dominating the discourse, the state’s political climate is already combustible.

Adhikari’s refusal echoes earlier flashpoints with the chief minister since his dramatic defection from the TMC to the BJP in December 2020.

With both camps weaponising corruption cases, violence narratives and constitutional propriety ahead of the polls, Adhikari’s public rejection of Nabanna’s outreach has become more than an administrative snub. It is a deliberate political signal in a state primed for its most acrimonious electoral battle in a decade, political observers said.

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