By Suryagni Roy: West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday sent a notice to Trinamool Congress (TMC) over its previous notice to him seeking an apology for his statement that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah regarding TMC’s national party status.

At a rally in Singur, Suvendu Adhikari had claimed that Mamata Banerjee called Amit Shah several times requesting her party’s national status be retained.

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Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has vowed to step down if Adhikari’s claims were proven correct.

Suvraneel Dey, Suvendu Adhikari’s lawyer, stated that the purported letter under reference, issued on behalf of a “non-existent political party, is not maintainable in law”.

“A body which is not in existence cannot serve notice.Without prejudice to what has been stated hereinabove, and on the contrary fully relying upon the same, my client states that since the party you are allegedly representing is non-existent, the question of reference to its chairperson, cannot and does not arise. It is suggested that such a letter under reply is an outcome of vague assertion and an action based on hot haste without even proper application of mind,” the notice read.

The notice sent to TMC MP Derek O Brien also stated the credibility of the purported letter under reference is “doubted in as much as at the present moment, there is no political party known as All India Trinamool Congress”.

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“My client contends there is a local party known as Trinamool Congress which once had the status of a national party but at present is a local/state party. Such fact is also well evidenced everywhere including Wikipedia, where the party has been referred to as Trinamool Congress and the ECI status is shown therein as that of a State Party.In view of such fact, the purported letter under reference, issued on behalf of a non-existent political party is not maintainable in law. A body which is not in existence cannot serve a notice,” it stated.

The letter went on to state that All India Trinamool Congress has no locus standi to either save notice or initiate action for alleged defamation, in the instant case.

Adhikari even dared the Bengal chief minister to file a legal suit against him for claiming that she had sought help from the home minister.

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While addressing a public rally at Singur in Hooghly district earlier this week, Adhikari claimed that immediately after the Election of Commission of India (ECI) withdrew the national party status of Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee rang up Amit Shah with a plea to retain Trinamool’s national party status until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“She had appealed to Amit Shah to retain Trinamool’s national party status till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, the Home Minister clearly told her that the commission’s decision cannot be reversed by him since ECI is an autonomous body,” Adhikari said on April 18.