West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee administered the oath to two newly elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs on Friday, triggering strong objections from Governor CV Ananda Bose, who labeled it a “violation of the Constitution.”
During a special one-day session of the Assembly, Biman Banerjee administered the oath to Trinamool MLAs Rayat Hossain Sarkar from Bhagwangola and Sayantika Bandopadhyay from Baranagar. The MLAs had staged a protest until the previous day due to a standoff between Raj Bhavan and the Assembly regarding the oath-taking venue. On Thursday, Bose had authorized Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee to administer the oath in the Assembly on Friday, retracting his earlier decision to conduct it at Raj Bhavan. However, during today’s session, Asish Banerjee refused to administer the oath, citing it would be inappropriate in the presence of the Speaker. Responding to the Deputy Speaker’s plea, Biman Banerjee personally administered the oath to the MLAs on the floor.
Expressing displeasure over the Assembly’s move, CV Ananda Bose wrote to the President, highlighting that the Speaker’s act of administering the oath instead of the appointed Deputy Speaker was constitutionally improper.
“It is fundamental knowledge that the Constitution prevails over any Assembly regulation,” read a statement from Raj Bhavan. An official from Raj Bhavan informed PTI that the Governor’s letter to President Droupadi Murmu also underscored that the Speaker’s actions constituted a breach of the Constitution. Meanwhile, Sayantika Banerjee, speaking to India Today TV, criticized the Governor for wasting the MLAs’ time.
“Only one and a half years remain. This issue could have been resolved earlier if the Governor had been willing. It’s regrettable. Nonetheless, we have taken the oath and must now focus on serving the people,” Sayantika Banerjee remarked. The two legislators had staged a sit-in on the Assembly premises to protest the Governor’s initial stance, insisting on being sworn in by the Speaker within the Assembly premises, in accordance with parliamentary conventions.
