Ritabrata Banerjee

Ritabrata Banerjee
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
from West Bengal
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 December 2024
Preceded byJawhar Sircar
In office
3 April 2014 – 2 April 2020
Preceded byBarun Mukherji
Succeeded byBikash Ranjan Bhattacharya
State President of
INTTUC West Bengal
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 November 2020
Preceded byMadan Mitra
General Secretary of the
Students' Federation of India
In office
5 September 2008 – 25 January 2016
Preceded byK. K. Ragesh
Succeeded byVikram Singh
Personal details
Born (1978-11-15) 15 November 1978 (age 46)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Political partyTrinamool Congress (2020–present)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (2017-2020)
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (till 2017)
Alma materUniversity of Calcutta (MA)
Asutosh College (BA)

Ritabrata Banerjee (born 15 November 1978) is an Indian politician. He is currently serving as the State President of All India Trinamool Trade Union Congress West Bengal. He was elected a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal in February 2014.

Early life

Ritabrata Banerjee has attended school at South Point High School, Kolkata, and obtained BA degree from Asutosh College and MA degrees in English at Calcutta University. He is a full-time political activist and a former General Secretary of the Student Union in his college.[1]

Political controversy

He has been alleged along with other young comrades for harassment of former Finance minister of West Bengal Amit Mitra in New Delhi. In April 2013 in a protest program organised by Student Federation of India before the Planning Commission, few young members of the student organisation harassed Mr. Mitra.[2]

He was suspended from CPI(M) party membership on 2 June 2017 for 3 months pending investigations to the allegations of moral turpitude and leaking party secrets to the press.[3] On 10 October 2017 a lady named Namrata Dutta filed a complaint against Banerjee in Balurghat Police Station for sexual exploitation by promising marriage.[4][5] Ritabrata denied the accusation claiming the woman was extorting money from him asked him for 50 Lakhs not to file an FIR and uploaded screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation in which she asked him for money.[6] Subsequently, CID, West Bengal served a notice to him.[7] Ritabrata was expelled by the CPI(M) after an interview to ABP Ananda television channel in which he spoke against Mohammed Salim. Ritabrata claimed that he was not against the party and only against Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat and Mohammed Salim.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ "Ritabrata Banerjee Profile Educational Life & Political Career". kolkatabengalinfo.com. 11 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. ^ PTI (22 April 2013). "Six CPM, SFI activists held for assaulting Amit Mitra". Times of India. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  3. ^ Subhankar Mitra (17 February 2017). "Eki comrade! Dami ghori, kolom (Bengali)". India.com. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Woman who accused Ritabrata Banerjee of sexual exploitation, lodges complaint". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  5. ^ Kousik Sen. "Woman complains against Ritabrata". Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Expelled CPI(M) MP Ritabrata accused of sexual exploitation, responds with extortion allegation". Hindustan Times. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  7. ^ PTI (11 October 2017). "Ritabrata Banerjee served notice by West Bengal Police over woman's complaint". Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  8. ^ "My Fight Is Against Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Mohd Salim, Says Expelled CPI(M) MP Ritabrata Banerjee". Outlook. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  9. ^ "CPM expels RS MP Ritabrata, Yechury-Karat tussle deepens". Manoj C G. Indian Express. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.