After Accusing Fellow Judge Of Favouring TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, Calcutta High Court's Justice Announces Joining Politics

Calcutta High Court's Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay announced his decision on Sunday (3 March) to quit the judiciary and join politics.

This comes weeks after he hit headlines for accusing a fellow judge of favouring Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Abhishek Banerjee. The case was subsequently taken up by the Supreme Court.

In an interview with Bengali news channel ABP Ananda, Gangopadhya shared that he was being challenged by the ruling TMC to fight on the electoral field and hence he "thought why not."

He said that tomorrow would be his last day at the Calcutta High Court and that then he would send his resignation letter to the President on Tuesday.

Targeting TMC, he said, "Those who emerged as rulers did not seem to be able to benefit the kingdom," and said it is unacceptable for him as a Bengali and expressed his desire to directly reach people.

While he has not disclosed which party he will be joining, BJP's West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar expressed that he believes BJP will be Gangopadhyay's "natural choice."

Meanwhile, Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury too expressed his readiness to give a "warm welcome" if he chooses Congress and praised him for his fight against corruption.

However, the ruling TMC said that it was proven right that Gangopadhyay is a party worker. Interestingly, Gangopadhyay had accused his colleague for "acting clearly for some political party in this state."