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Speaker calls for special session of Assembly, may discuss MLA swear-in issue

Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay has called for a special session to discuss extensions of different standing committees. The session will be held at 2 pm on Friday.

Speaker calls for special session of Assembly, may discuss MLA swear-in issue

West Bengal Legislative Assembly

Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay has called for a special session to discuss extensions of different standing committees. The session will be held at 2 pm on Friday. A meeting of the Business Affairs (BA) committee will also be held at noon.

It’s learnt that the Speaker may also give the two new MLAs their oath during the session.

One month has elapsed since the results of bypolls in two Assembly constituencies, Baranagar in the city and Bhagbangola of Murshidabad district respectively were announced on 4 June but the swearing-in of the two newly-elected Trinamul Congress MLAs Sanyantika Banerjee and Rayat Hossain Sarkar is yet to be held.

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The ongoing tussle between Raj Bhavan and state Legislative Assembly has meant that the two legislators are yet to get busy with the proceedings in the House.

Governor C V Ananda Bose had invited the two legislators to come to the Raj Bhavan on 26 June to administer the oath there. But both Ms Banerjee and Mr Hossain Sarkar were not willing to go to the Governor House, instead requesting Mr Bose to administer them the oath in the Assembly. Both the parties, Mr Bose and two legislators have stuck to their earlier stand till Thursday leading to a stalemate in connection with their swearing-in programme.

Both the two MLAs have been staging dharna on the Assembly premises for more than past one week requesting the Governor to come to the Legislative House for the ceremony.

“We have called for a special session at 2 pm on Friday to discuss issues related to extensions of different standing committees in the Assembly,” Mr Bandyopadhyay told reporters today.

“They (two new MLAs) won’t attend the session because their oath taking has not yet happened. I won’t say anything about them today. Will let you know tomorrow,” he added, when asked about Ms Banerjee and Mr Sarkar.

It’s learnt that the Assembly secretariat may also move the High Court against Raj Bhavan if Mr Bose does not take any positive move in connection with administering them the oath by this week.

Mr Bandyopadhyay has already spoken to the Advocate General Kishore Dutta in this regard.

Mr Bose, who is in Delhi, still sticks to his decision to administer the oath at Raj Bhavan making the issue uncertain.

Mr Bandyopadhyay has already spoken to the vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and discussed with him about the oath-taking issue of the two MLAs. It’s learnt that Mr Dhankhar has given the Speaker some way-outs in connection with the crisis.

Aggrieved with the ongoing tussle between Raj Bhavan and the Assembly on the issue of oath taking, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said, “What is this? They can’t take oath as MLAs. It’s either the Speaker or deputy Speaker who administer them the oath. Why is he (Governor) preventing them?”

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