Two Trinamool MLA-elect, Speaker urge Guv to administer oath in Assembly

Kolkata: With the tussle over the oath taking ceremony continuing with Raj Bhavan, the two newly elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs are learnt to have again requested the Governor to allow them to take oath at the West Bengal Assembly.

On Monday too, the two MLA-elect Sayantika Banerjee and Rayat Hossain Sarkar met the Speaker of the Assembly Biman Banerjee to seek his opinion as to how the impasse with the Governor House can be solved so they can take their oath and start their work as MLAs. Sources said the duo are contemplating writing another letter to Governor C V Ananda Bose, requesting that he allows them to take oath in the West Bengal Assembly rather than at Raj Bhavan. The Speaker is learnt to have already urged the Governor once again to allow them to take oath at Assembly. He requested Bose to come to the Assembly to administer the oath.

Trinamool Congress has alleged that the Governor is deliberately delaying the oath taking ceremony. The two MLA-elects sat on a sit-in demonstration on the stairs of the Assembly building while Bose had gone to Delhi where he met the President, Vice-President, Union Home minister, Union Finance minister, among others.Meanwhile, the Governor is learnt to have approached the High Court with a defamation suit against Mamata Banerjee. The plea comes in the aftermath of Banerjee claiming that she was informed that women do not feel safe visiting Raj Bhavan due to recent allegations of sexual harassment against the Governor by a former Raj Bhavan employee. Bose has reportedly stated that those holding high offices such as chief minister should refrain from making “erroneous and slanderous” comments. Both Sayantika and Rayat Hossain won the bypolls on June 4 from Baranagar and Bhagwangola seats, respectively.

It has been almost a month that they are waiting to take oath as MLAs. This has also affected their work in signing documents as law makers.