Kolkata, Feb 7 (PTI) West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay on Wednesday said the ongoing budget session, which began on February 5, does not require the customary governor’s address because the previous session was adjourned sine die in December and the House was not prorogued.
Bandyopadhyay clarified that he had addressed the matter in accordance with a precedent set in Parliament on two previous occasions.
He pointed out that there have been instances when the House was adjourned in one month and commenced in the next without an address by the head of state.
Bandyopadhyay referred to the cases of December 3, 1962, when Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die and commenced again on January 21, which continued until February 18, 1963. He said no President’s address was required on that day.
The Speaker also mentioned that the 13th Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on December 23, 2003, and the 14th session commenced on January 29, 2004, without the President’s address. He cited these examples to support the decision to begin the current session without the governor’s address.
In response to the Speaker’s explanation, veteran BJP MLA and economist Ashok Lahiri acknowledged that the Speaker’s “contention is correct by law, by constitutional rules,” but stated that he cannot accept it in spirit.
Lahiri also reminded the Speaker that Parliament had to be adjourned in 1962 due to the war with China, which was an exceptional and emergency situation that cannot be compared to the situation in 2023-24.
Lahiri’s party colleague and leader of the opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, had described the decision as “the eighth wonder of the world” and said such developments are only expected in West Bengal. Adhikari was not present in the House on Wednesday.
State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay had previously said since the previous session of the assembly was not declared as prorogued and was adjourned sine die, there was no mandatory rule to request the governor to deliver the inaugural address on the day of the next session, which is technically a continuation of the previous session. PTI SUS MNB
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