Two newly elected TMC MLAs, Rayat Hossain Sarkar and Sayantika Banerjee, were left waiting on the premises of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in Kolkata for their swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday. However, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose refused to hold the program in the assembly as requested by them and instead left for New Delhi.
Miffed over the Governor’s action, the two MLAs stated that they would write to the Governor again and continue their sit-in protest on Thursday inside the assembly premises.
“Today we waited until 4 PM, but the Governor didn’t come. We will write to the Governor again and request him to administer the oath here at the assembly. Tomorrow, we will sit near the statue of Dr. B R Ambedkar and protest against the injustice,” Bandopadhyay was quoted by news agency PTI.
His statement came after a meeting with Speaker Biman Banerjee, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobhandeb Chottoapadhyay along with Sarkar.
Raj Bhavan had earlier invited the two, who were elected to the assembly in recent by-polls, to take the oath at the Governor’s House on Wednesday.
However, the TMC claimed that the convention dictates that in the case of by-poll winners, the governor assigns the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the assembly to administer the oath.
Sources at Raj Bhavan told news agency PTI that the governor left for New Delhi in the evening.
Earlier in the day, the two MLAs arrived at the assembly and stated their intention to wait for the governor until 4 PM to administer their oath of office or authorize the Speaker to do so.
They also staged a sit-in on the staircase of the assembly demanding the same.
“We came to know that he had left for New Delhi. We are not nominated but elected representatives of the people. We are accountable to the masses. We are hopeful of taking the oath in the assembly,” Bandyopadhyay said.
