Calcutta High Court Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay – who confirmed his resignation

today – has said he will join the Bharatiya Janata Party, possibly on coming Thursday.
"Maybe on March 7, in the afternoon. There is a tentative program when I will join the
BJP," he said. Speaking to the media in Kolkata, he also praised Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, whom he called a "very hardworking man". He slammed into the ruling
Trinamool Congress Party, which he claimed had "inspired" him to enter the arena of
politics.
Trinamool…means corruption: Justice Gangopadhyay

He declared, "Trinamool is imploding… it means corruption. PM Modi is a very
hardworking man and he is trying to do something for this country." He also took swipes
at some other opposition parties, "I believe in God and religion, but the CPI(M) does not,
and the Congress is the zamindari of one family."
Justice Gangopadhyay made headlines last year after an interview with a leading TV
channel in which he discussed a case that he was hearing.
There is ongoing speculation he could contest the Tamluk seat that has been a bastion
of the ruling Trinamool Congress in recent elections; it is a constituency that the party
has held since the 2009 election.
The seat was held by Suvendu Adhikari (between 2009 and 2016, when he quit).
Adhikari was widely seen as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's right-hand man till his
explosive switch to the BJP.
Earlier in the day, Justice Gangopadhyay confirmed his resignation telling reporters, "I
am going to meet the Chief Justice for a courtesy visit. I have already sent my
resignation to the President."
He also said he had planned to hold a press conference, but "it skipped my mind that
prohibitory orders (banning large gatherings) are in place". "So, I will hold it at my
home…" he said.
Justice Gangopadhyay, who announced his decision to quit on Sunday, had received an
invitation to join politics from Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh. In response, he
had replied, "He has said lot of things against me as a political spokesperson, but I like
him as a person. He is a good human being".
Rulings continued to make headlines
As the interview with the TV channel about the case he was hearing was broadcast,
Supreme Court Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said on the matter "judges have no
business granting interviews on pending matters.” Since then, the particular incident
and how it all unfolded and various other rulings by Justice Gangopadhyay continued to
make frequent headlines.
Earlier this year, he had accused Justice Soumen Sen – who led a bench that stayed an
order for a CBI probe into college irregularities – of working for a political party.
The matter is pending in the top court.
In December last year, Justice Gangopadhyay's order to arrest a lawyer in the
courtroom on contempt charges set off a huge row with the bar association adamant on
boycotting all proceedings involving the judge. He was hearing a case related to the
state's Madrasah Service Commission.