Kolkata, Jun 25 (PTI) Two newly elected Trinamool Congress MLAs said they will wait for West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose at the legislative assembly for four hours on Wednesday, as the impasse over their swearing in continues to complicate matters.
While the Raj Bhavan has maintained that the oath-taking ceremony should take place in front of Bose at the Governor’s House, the two MLAs, Sayantika Bandyopadhyay and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, requested him to facilitate it in the assembly on June 26.
“I am a member of the Legislative Assembly, and I need to work from here. It is a general practice that in the case of a by-election, the Governor writes to the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker to administer the oath. That is why I had written to the Governor, for his initiative,” Bandyopadhyay, who won from Baranagar assembly seat in June 1 bypolls, told reporters.
“I will wait till 4 pm in the assembly compound tomorrow (June 26) from noon for the hon’ble Governor to come and be present at the oath-taking ceremony. Already three weeks have passed since my win but I am yet to start working for the people of my constituency. Only one-and-a-half-years remain for the next assembly polls. I don’t have much time,” she told reporters at the assembly premises.
Rayat Hossain Sarkar, who won the bypoll from Bhagabangola, also said he will wait along with Bandyopadhyay from noon to 4 pm for the Governor to conduct the oath-taking ceremony or for his consent so that the swearing-in takes place in the presence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Speaker Biman Banerjee said, “Oath-taking ceremony is a constitutional protocol and it is very unfortunate that we have to experience this kind of situation. If the Governor is interested, he can come to the Assembly and conduct the oath-taking ceremony. We will make all the arrangements. We do not have any problem. But there should not be any impasse,” he told reporters.
The Governor had asked both MLAs to attend the oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhavan on June 26. Though, as per constitutional norms, the Governor can administer the oath to an MLA, conventionally, he assigns the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker to do so in the Assembly in case of bypolls. PTI SUS MNB
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