Newsmaker: Ritabrata Banerjee, breaking red ranks from within

Ritabrata Banerjee was expelled from CPI(M) for 'anti-party activities'

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had only nine members in the Lok Sabha and seven in the Rajya Sabha. The latter number is now down to six, with the expulsion of Ritabrata Banerjee for ‘anti-party activities’, apparently including the owning of an Apple watch and a Mont Blanc pen.

Banerjee stands expelled under section 19 (13) of the party constitution. Section 19 deals with party discipline; clause 13 is invoked against those who break the party line. “In exceptional circumstances, party committees in their discretion may resort to summary procedure in expelling members for grave anti-party activities,” it reads.