Kolkata, Dec 1 (PTI) The West Bengal government on Monday recommended retired Justice Rabindranath Samanta as the state’s new Lokayukta at an annual sitting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a meeting defined as much by its constitutional formality as by the conspicuous absence of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
Justice Samanta, who retired as Calcutta High Court judge in June 2023, succeeded Justice (Retired) Ashim Kumar Roy who served as Lokayukta from November 2018 and continued till August, 2025, after a two-year extension granted in 2023.
The new Lokayukta’s name has been recommended by a panel chaired by the chief minister. His appointment will be made by the Governor, following which he will take the oath.
But Monday’s statutory process unfolded amid a deepening political rift, with Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari boycotting the meeting for the fourth consecutive year, a move that has become emblematic of the widening gulf between state secretariat Nabanna and the BJP ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
Despite receiving the formal invitation sent every year as per convention, Adhikari stayed away, reiterating his refusal to sit with the chief minister.
“I am not attending the Lokayukta meeting. I will not sit with a chief minister who is heading a corrupt government,” he had declared on Friday, adding that the recent assault on BJP MP Khagen Murmu in Malda made any engagement with the ruling establishment “morally impossible.” “After seeing Murmu drenched in blood, no sane person can sit next to those who have the blood of BJP workers on their hands,” he said, terming the ruling party “morally bankrupt”.
In a subsequent letter to the government, the Nandigram MLA accused the state government of “repeatedly violating constitutional norms,” arguing that his presence would “legitimise an unconstitutional process”.
The TMC dismissed the boycott as a calculated political stunt.
“They talk about fighting corruption but skip meetings on Lokayukta appointments. This is the BJP’s double standard on full display,” a senior ruling party MLA said.
The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption authority that investigates complaints against government officials and public servants to ensure accountability and transparency.
Another TMC functionary said Adhikari had turned routine constitutional procedures into political flashpoints, noting that participation in statutory committees “is a constitutional responsibility, not a political favour”.
Despite the absence of the LoP, officials said the committee followed due process and unanimously cleared Justice Samanta’s appointment, which will be notified shortly.
Samanta’s rise to Lokayukta caps a judicial career spanning more than three decades, including key magisterial and district postings, serving as Registrar of the Calcutta High Court, and later as Chief Judge of the City Civil Court before being elevated to the High Court bench in 2021.
At present, he is serving as the chairperson of the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal.
The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleged pressure on BLOs, and recent incidents of political violence have already heightened tension across the state. Against this canvas, Adhikari’s renewed boycott added another layer to the charged pre-election environment, political observers said.
Both TMC and BJP have escalated attacks on each other over corruption, governance breakdowns and political bloodshed.
Adhikari has frequently cited cases involving former ministers Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriya Mallick, accusing the CM of not reporting such developments to the Assembly “as required by law.” He recently suggested that senior bureaucrats could be moved to statutory posts if denied service extensions, remarking that “if Chief Secretary Manoj Pant doesn’t get an extension, he might suddenly be seen in the Human Rights Commission.” Political observers say the confrontation around Monday’s meeting was “a deliberate political signal,” part of a larger narrative-building exercise as Bengal heads into one of its most polarised elections in a decade.
With Justice Samanta’s appointment nearly complete, the statutory process has moved forward.
But the entrenched standoff between the chief minister and the Leader of the Opposition continues to turn even annual institutional meetings into symbolic battlegrounds, a trend likely to intensify as the 2026 polls draw nearer. PTI SUS AMR PNT NN
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