Ex-Calcutta High Court judge, who quit recently, to join BJP

Kolkata: Hours after quitting his office as judge of the Calcutta High Court, Abhijit Gangopadhyay announced that he will join the BJP. However, he didn't give a clear reply on whether he would contest the assembly polls, PTI reported.

He alleged that the Trinamool Congress in Bengal was "synonymous with corruption" and that he would fight them till the end.

Addressing a press conference, he said, "I will be joining the BJP, possibly on March 7. I am joining the BJP as it is a national party, which is fighting against the corruption of the TMC in Bengal," he said.

When asked about contesting the LS polls, he replied, "It is for the BJP leadership to decide whether they want me to fight. Whatever they decide, I will accept."

Gangopadhyay promised that he would fight against the "injustice" and "corruption" of the TMC.

"TMC leaders have been using derogatory language against me for quite some time. If they don't like a judgment, then they can't just verbally attack a judge. Such instigations only helped me to take the decision to join politics and fight the TMC, which is synonymous with corruption in Bengal," he said.

"The days of the TMC are numbered in West Bengal. The CPI (M)-led Left Front was decimated in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, ultimately leading to their defeat in the 2011 assembly polls. The TMC will also face the same fate," he claimed.

When asked about his decision to join the BJP, he said that he decided this over the past few days. "I was on leave for the last few days and got in touch with the BJP. They also contacted me. I felt this is the right platform to fight against the TMC," he said.

Further, he said that allegations of corruption against the BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendhu Adhikari, he said that were cooked up. The case was fabricated to frame him and to pave the way for a top TMC leader's accession to the party's power structure. He said that the 2016 Narada sting operation was a conspiracy "where a man was planted," The Indian Express reported.

The Narada operation produced videos that showed Adhikari taking cash.

On Tuesday morning, Gangopadhyay sent his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu with copies to CJI DY Chandrachud and the Chief Justice of the Calcutta HC TS Sivagnanam.