calcutta-hc-justice-abhijit-gangopadhyay-quits-judiciary-to-join-politics-likely-to-contest-ls-polls-if-given-ticket

Calcutta High Court Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court on Sunday said he will leave the judiciary and join politics. His decision has been hailed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress.

In an interview given to one of local news channel in West Bengal, he said: “I have been challenged to come and fight on the (political) field several times by the ruling party’s (TMC’s) leaders, so I thought of fulfilling their demand.”

Gangopadhyay is known for bringing the ruling party in Bengal to its knees in school jobs scam case.

The judge has not clarified which political party he will join but said he would fight elections if given a ticket. Gangopadhyay asserted that he would serve for the last time in the Calcutta High Court on Monday and tender his resignation on Tuesday to the President of India.

He said that the reason behind making such a move is to serve the people of Bengal who are reeling under extreme corruption. By being in the courtroom, he is not being able to reach out to the state’s citizens.

“As a Bengali, I cannot accept this. Those who emerged as rulers did not seem to be able to benefit the kingdom. I will take the challenge and I have decided to resign on Tuesday. On Monday, I will be in court as I have lots of cases at hand,” he was quoted as saying.

State’s ruling TMC alleged Gangopadhyay was a “political worker” and his decision to join politics laid bare his anti-TMC bias. “We have been saying for long that he is a political party worker. We thank him today for proving us right,” TMC state spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya quipped.

Congress said it would be pleased to have Gangopadhyay on board ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “He is a crusader against corruption. If he wants to join the Congress, we will give him a warm welcome. He is a fighter. If he joins the BJP, then ideologically we can’t support (him).” Chowdhury had once said that he would like Gangopadhyay to be the chief minister of West Bengal.

BJP President Sukanta Majumdar said: “People like Abhijit Gangopadhyay joining politics is something that is in the country’s favour. I guess the BJP would be his natural choice.”