Administer oath to MLA in Assembly: Speaker to Guv

Kolkata: Amidst the tug of war between Raj Bhavan and the state over the issue of oath-taking of Dhupguri MLA Nirmal Chandra Roy, Governor C V Ananda Bose wrote to the Speaker of the Assembly on Tuesday insisting that the swearing–in ceremony be performed at Raj Bhavan while the latter wrote back requesting it should happen at the Assembly.

“The Governor wrote to the Speaker insisting that the oath-taking ceremony take place at Raj Bhavan. The Speaker wrote back to him that it has been the convention of holding such a ceremony of MLAs in Assembly and there is a sense of pride and honour associated with it. He has requested the Governor to visit the state Assembly to administer the oath to Roy,” said Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay,

state Parliamentary Affairs minister.

Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the Governor has asked the Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee to administer the oath. Banerjee, however, denied having received any such letter from the Governor.

Speaker Biman Banerjee confirmed that the Governor has not written to the Deputy Speaker.

Bose also wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing his wish to hold Roy’s swearing-in at Raj Bhavan, claiming that it would add to the dignity of the Governor House.

“People from all communities, caste, and creed have taken oath as MLA in the Assembly. So the Assembly’s dignity is much greater,” the Speaker opined.