West Bengal: TMC MLAs Stage Dharna, Demand Oath from Governor at Assembly

Kolkata: Two newly-elected Trinamul Congress MLAs, Sayantika Banerjee and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, staged a dharna on the Assembly premises on Wednesday, seeking Governor CV Ananda Bose to come to the House by 4 pm and administer them the oath as members.

Mr Bose, who already made it clear that the two Assembly bypoll winners would have to take their oath at Raj Bhavan, did not visit the Assembly however. He later flew to New Delhi.

A drama unfolded in the Assembly where Ms Banerjee and Mr Sarkar sat down on the stairs of the south portico of the legislative building after 12 pm. They also carried placards which read appeals to Mr Bose to visit the Assembly.

Ms Banerjee, who won from Baranagar in northern parts of Kolkata, said, “We waited but the Governor did not come. We came to know that he had left for New Delhi. We will wait for a few more days and see what happens. We are hopeful of taking the oath in the assembly." Mr Sarkar, who won from Bhagabangola in Murshidabad, echoed her.

Standing by the two first-time MLAs, Speaker Biman Banerjee said, “I got no communication from Raj Bhavan. The two MLAs gave me a letter in which they stated their availability in the Assembly from 12-4 pm to take oath from the governor. So I asked the secretariat to be ready for the arrival of the governor.”

He claimed, “But I feel that the Governor is somehow taking a challenge upon himself knowingly. He is not doing it right. He should have understood that these two are going to become members of the House. He is also taking a different stand on the state. I don't know why he is acting in such a way. There might be a purpose behind it. I will explore legal options to his and my limits.”