Hansda becomes Dy Speaker of state Assembly

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress MLA from Jhargram Sukumar Hansda has been elected as the Deputy Speaker of the state Legislative Assembly on Friday.

Hansda expressed his gratitude to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for selecting a person from the tribal areas of the state for an important post like that of the Deputy Speaker, which remained vacant following the death of Haider Aziz Safwi. Safwi died earlier this month following a cardiac arrest.

Hansda has been elected unopposed as the Opposition parties did not field any candidate. All the Opposition parties like Congress, CPI(M) and BJP welcomed the move made by the ruling party in choosing a candidate who belongs to a tribal community.

Many have observed that the Mamata Banerjee government has played a masterstroke in fielding such a candidate for the post of Deputy Speaker. Hansda has served as a minister of the state earlier.

"I am thankful to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has chosen me for the prestigious post of Deputy Speaker of the Assembly. It shows how much importance Banerjee gives to the tribal people," Hansda stated.

Parliamentary Affairs minister Partha Chatterjee had recommended Hansda's name for the post and other MLAs, including those from the Opposition parties, supported his candidature. Chatterjee later said that Hansda is a physician and belongs to a conservative family. His father Subodh Chandra Hansda had been a Union minister.

Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay said that the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has a strong heritage. Hansda has been a public representative from Jangalmahal and would cooperate with him to run the Assembly.