2 TMC MLAs stage stir awaiting Governor’s arrival in Bengal assembly
MLAs Sayantika Banerjee and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, who were recently elected in the assembly bypolls from Baranaga and Bhagwangola, respectively, had urged the governor to hold the swearing-in ceremony at the assembly.
Two newly elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators on Wednesday staged a sit-in protest at the West Bengal Legislative Assembly after governor CV Ananda Bose refused to administer the oath of office to them in the premises, or delegate the responsibility to the speaker, in a fresh standoff that is likely to further strain ties between Raj Bhavan and the state government.
MLAs Sayantika Banerjee and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, who were recently elected in the assembly bypolls from Baranaga and Bhagwangola, respectively, had urged the governor to hold the swearing-in ceremony at the assembly. The governor, however, had invited the two to take the oath at Raj Bhavan. He also left for Delhi later in the day.
“We are not nominated. We are elected representatives. What wrong have we done that despite being elected by the people, we are not able to take the oath (in the assembly) and we have to beg for that,” Banerjee told reporters, as the two MLAs sat on the staircase of the assembly, holding placards which said “Waiting for the arrival of Hon. Governor for oath”.
While there was no immediate response from the Raj Bhavan, with Bose leaving for Delhi later in the day, the governor’s house on Tuesday had cited Article 188 of the Constitution, which states that every legislator shall take an oath before the governor or some other persons appointed by him.
Senior Calcutta high court advocate and former Kolkata mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said it is usually the speaker who administers the oath. “Elected representatives usually take oaths in the assembly before the speaker. The chief minister and other ministers usually take their oath before the governor,” he said.
BJP legislator Suvendu Adhikari hit out at the TMC, saying: “The governor has exercised his constitutional rights. He can delegate the powers. He can even delegate that power to me and I can administer the oath.”
