West Bengal: Didi Slams Governor Over Delay in Administering Oath to TMC MLAs

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee attacked governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday for not administering oath to two newly-elected Trinamul Congress MLAs at the Assembly.

Referring to one of the MLAs, Sayantika Banerjee who won from Baranagar, the TMC chief also pointed out that women are scared to visit the Raj Bhavan in wake of allegations of sexual harassment against the governor.

The CM said at a meeting in the state secretariat Nabanna, “My MLAs are sitting idle for nearly a month after their win because the governor does not want to administer them their oath. People have elected these two.”

She wondered, “But what right does the governor have in not giving them the oath? He can authorise either the Assembly Speaker or the deputy speaker to administer the oath! Otherwise, he can go to the Assembly to do it.”

Ms Banerjee added, “Why would all have to go to the Raj Bhavan for the same purpose? The women have complained to me that they are scared to go there after the scandal took place there.”

Sayantika, who along with another TMC MLA Reyat Hossain Sarkar, has been holding a sit-in demonstration on the Assembly premises, later echoed the CM. She said, “We respect him and his chair more but there are many suspicious things. Why would I be invited alone to Raj Bhavan?”

The first-time TMC MLA added, “Why wasn't the Assembly Speaker informed about the selective invitation to me? Thats why I didn't feel safe to go there. We did not want to talk about it irrespective of whether the allegations against the governor were true or false. But as a woman, I am definitely scared to go to Raj Bhavan.”