What is the ‘signature scam’ of the TMC, which has created a political storm in Bengal and caused embarrassment for Mamata Banerjee

The Trinamool Congress on Monday, 1st June, expelled two of its MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, after both leaders raised serious allegations regarding forged signatures in a document submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker’s office. The controversy, now widely referred to as the Bengal “signature scandal”, has triggered a major political storm in the state and intensified tensions between the ruling BJP government and Mamata Banerjee-led TMC. #BREAKING: The All India Trinamool Congress has expelled its MLAs Ritobrata Bandhyopadhyay and Sandipan Saha. pic.twitter.com/ukXSd8hC2L— IANS (@ians_india) June 1, 2026 The party announced the expulsion shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari publicly referred to complaints made by the two MLAs over forgery of signatures in a letter endorsing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. #BigBreaking: #WestBengal Chief Minister #SuvenduAdhikari makes a startling revelation regarding the forged signature case.Speaking from the Secretariat today, the Chief Minister stated that two TMC MLAs—Ritabrata Banerjee & Sandipan Saha—had filed a written complaint with the… pic.twitter.com/YXOSBdx84d— Pooja Mehta (@pooja_news) June 1, 2026 A communication issued by TMC vice-president Chandrima Bhattacharya accused the two legislators of “anti-party activities.” The letter claimed that both MLAs repeatedly skipped party meetings and made statements harmful to the interests of the organisation. “After due consideration of the matter, the competent authority of the AITC has decided to expel you from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect,” the letter stated. Sandipan Saha targets Abhishek Banerjee The controversy deepened further after expelled MLA Sandipan Saha directly blamed TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee over the forged signatures. “Submitting the signatures of those who weren’t there was a huge blunder. Abhishek Banerjee’s name is coming up because he signed the list of MLAs as the General Secretary,” Saha told ANI. #WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | TMC MLA Sandipan Saha, who is one of the 60 MLAs who skipped the pre-scheduled meeting called by Mamata Banerjee yesterday, says, "A meeting has been held before. It included a resolution on who would be the party leader, deputy leader, and chief… pic.twitter.com/zq8JQDg2Nd— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2026 “That list itself had so many mistakes. Questions will definitely fall on Abhishek Banerjee because it was his responsibility and he failed to fulfil it,” he added. The CID has already issued a notice to Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the case. A CID team visited his Kalighat residence on Saturday and summoned him for questioning. However, Abhishek did not appear before investigators on Monday, citing ill health, and reportedly sought 15 days. Suvendu Adhikari calls for detailed probe Soon after the expulsions, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari addressed reporters at Nabanna and announced that the signature forgery allegations would be investigated thoroughly by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Adhikari said the complaints regarding forged signatures had come directly from TMC MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. According to him, an FIR was first registered at Hare Street Police Station on the Speaker’s instructions, after which the matter was handed over to the CID. “This is not an act of vendetta. The law is very clear on this issue,” Adhikari said. He claimed that statements of several MLAs had already been recorded during the investigation. “The statements of 13 MLAs have been recorded. Another MLA is out of station, and his statement will be recorded later,” he said. Adhikari further that multiple signatures shown in the document submitted to the Speaker’s office were not genuine. “Three Trinamool MLAs – Baharul Islam, Arup Roy and Shubhashis Das – have given statements to the CID that the signatures in the document were not theirs,” he claimed. “The investigating agency can say on whose instructions this was done,” he added. What is the Bengal signature scandal? The controversy revolves around a letter submitted to the office of Assembly Speaker Rathindranath Bose on 20th May regarding the appointment of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition. According to the letter, signatures of several TMC MLAs were forged in the document without their consent. The issue became serious after multiple legislators reportedly informed investigators that the signatures shown beside their names did not belong to them. Investigators are now trying to determine who prepared the document, who approved it and whether signatures were deliberately forged. The CID probe is currently focused on how the letter was prepared and submitted, and whether senior party functionaries were aware of the irregularities. At the same time, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also raised questions regarding fake beneficiaries under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, which was launched during the previous TMC government to provide financial assistance to women. Adhikari claimed that nearly 30 lakh accounts linked to the scheme were fake and alleged that many men had illegally received benefits meant only for women. “Around 30 lakh Lakshmir Bhandar accounts are fake. I have asked the DGP to form an SIT to investigate the matter,” Adhikari said. He further stated that the government was also looking into possible money laundering linked to the fake accounts, since public money had allegedly been transferred illegally. According to the Chief Minister, investigators had already identified several suspicious accounts in districts like Murshidabad. “The investigators have so far identified around 22 such fake accounts being operated by three people in Murshidabad,” he claimed. Adhikari said one individual named Mustafizur Rahman and his wife Tuhina operated 15 fake accounts, while another person identified as Tarikur Rahman operated six such accounts. Suvendu links scandal to “15 years of corruption” While addressing the media, Suvendu Adhikari also linked the controversy to what he described as a culture of corruption during the Trinamool Congress regime. “The signature scandal is indicative of the reign of corruption that the Trinamool had engaged in during its 15-year rule,” he said. The Chief Minister said the government would not interfere in the investigation and that the law would take its own course. “As the chief minister and home minister, I instructed the CID to take over the case. I am not going to interfere in the investigation. That is not my job,” he stated. Mamata Banerjee accuses BJP of intimidation Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP government of trying to politically target and intimidate TMC MLAs. The former Chief Minister claimed that several party legislators were threatened over the phone before attending a party meeting. “Four of my elected MLAs complained to me how they were threatened by the cops over the phone before they came for the meeting,” Mamata said. She also accused the BJP of attempting to weaken the Trinamool Congress by using administrative machinery against opposition leaders. The controversy has now exposed growing cracks within the TMC at a time when the party is already facing internal dissatisfaction after its poor electoral performance. With the CID investigation intensifying and senior leaders now under scrutiny, the Bengal signature scandal is expected to become one of the biggest political flashpoints in the state in the coming days.