Raj Bhavan on Tuesday said that, according to the Constitution, the governor would have the final say on the swearing-in of two Trinamool Congress legislators who had won the Assembly by-elections.

The two, Sayantika Bandopadhyay and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, had written to governor C.V. Ananda Bose, requesting him to reach the Assembly for the oath-taking ceremony.

Raj Bhavan said on X that according to Clause 188 of the Constitution, every member of the Assembly, before taking their seat, should take an oath before the governor or some person assigned to do so by the governor.

Constitutionally, the governor administers the oath to an MLA. But by convention, the governor assigns the job to the Speaker or the deputy Speaker.

Bose also wrote to Bandopadhyay and Hossain Sarkar on Tuesday, asking them to be present at Raj Bhavan at 12pm on Wednesday for the swearing-in.

Bandopadhyay, who had a meeting with Speaker Biman Banerjee after receiving the letter, said: “We don’t have any problem in going to Raj Bhavan for taking the oath, but it should be intimated to the Assembly. Our business is in the Assembly and we need to inform the Speaker.”

“It is our constitutional duty. Tomorrow, we will wait for the governor from 12pm to 4pm, with all our documents. If he comes (to the Assembly), we will be happy,” she added.

Banerjee said: “The swearing-in of the legislators who win by-elections is always done by the Speaker. This is even mentioned by B.R. Ambedkar in his speech. The governor didn’t even deem it necessary to inform the Speaker. This is very unfortunate. Even after that, ifthe governor wants to come to the Assembly and conductthe ceremony, he is always welcome.”

Raj Bhavan, however, said there were instances in the past of newly-elected members, such as Mamata Banerjee, Jakir Hossain and Amirul Islam, taking their oath or affirmation before the then governor in 2021.

Political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty has said there is no rule that the governor has to inform the Speaker about MLAs’ oath-taking.