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Two newly-elected TMC MLAs – Rayat Hossain Sarkar and Sayantika Banerjee – were waiting at the West Bengal Assembly premises in Kolkata for their swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, however, officials said West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose refused to hold the event at the Assembly as per their request and instead left for New Delhi.
Both the MLAs, upset with the Governor’s action, said that they will again write a letter to the Governor and will continue their protest inside the Assembly premises on Thursday as well.
“Today we waited till 4 pm but the Governor did not come. We will again write a letter to the Governor and request him to administer the oath in the Assembly itself. Tomorrow again we will sit near the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar and protest against injustice,” Bandopadhyay said, according to news agency PTI.
His statement came after a meeting with Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobhandeb Chottopadhyay and the government.
The Raj Bhawan had earlier invited both the MLAs, elected to the Assembly in the recently held by-polls, to take oath at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.
However, the TMC claimed that as per convention, the governor entrusts the task of administering the oath to the speaker or deputy speaker of the assembly in case of those who win by-polls.
The governor left for New Delhi in the evening, Raj Bhavan sources told news agency PTI.
Earlier in the day, both the MLAs reached the Assembly and said they would wait till 4 pm for the Governor to administer the oath of office to them or authorise the Speaker to do so.
They also staged a sit-in protest on the steps of the Assembly demanding the same.
“We came to know that he has left for New Delhi. We are not nominated but elected representatives of the people. We are accountable to the people. We are expected to take oath in the assembly,” Bandopadhyay said.
Expressing his displeasure over the situation, Speaker Biman Banerjee accused Bose of turning the swearing-in ceremony into a “battle of egos” and deliberately complicating the issue.
He claimed that the deadlock was created deliberately, the reasons for which are best known to the Governor.
“We were waiting for the governor to come to the assembly but he did not come. Such a deadlock was not expected at all. The governor has turned it into a battle of egos. He is exercising his powers. I will also consult legal experts to understand my powers,” Banerjee said.
Describing the swearing-in of MLAs as a “constitutional tradition”, the Speaker said it was “unfortunate” for him to witness such developments in the current times.
The Speaker said that he was not aware of any case where an MP who won a by-election was sworn in by the President of India.
“Unless we take oath, we cannot work as MLAs. People of our constituency are upset,” Bandopadhyay said.
Bandopadhyay and Sarkar were elected from Baranagar near Kolkata and Bhagwangola in Murshidabad district respectively.
The fresh confrontation between the Bengal governor and the state’s ruling TMC began a few days ago following a letter from the Raj Bhavan inviting two newly-elected MLAs to be present at the Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremony on July 26.
The TMC alleged that the act was a violation of the convention of the governor delegating the responsibility to the speaker or deputy speaker of the House to take necessary action in the case of by-poll winners.
There is reportedly no mention in the Raj Bhavan letter as to who will administer the oath to the new MLAs.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Published: June 26, 2024, 09:22 PM IST
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