After West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose refused to concede to their request that their swearing-in be held in the assembly, two newly elected TMC legislators held a protest on Wednesday on the assembly premises.
The two MLAs, Sayantika Bandyopadhyay and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, said they would wait for the governor to arrive in the assembly till 4 pm to administer their oath of office or authorise the Speaker to do it.
Raj Bhavan has earlier invited the two, who were elected to the assembly by-polls held recently, to take oath at the Governor's House on Wednesday.
The TMC, however, claimed that that in case of by-poll winners, the convention is the governor assigns the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the assembly to administer the oath.
"We have requested the honourable governor to come to the assembly and administer the oath of office or delegate it to the Speaker. However, he has declined both options. Therefore, we are waiting on the assembly staircase," Sarkar told reporters.
Sarkar and Bandyopadhyay were seen carrying placards requesting the governor to allow them to fulfil their duties as elected representatives.
"Until we take the oath, we cannot function as MLAs. The people of our constituencies are suffering," Bandyopadhyay said.
Sarkar also mentioned that he and Bandyopadhyay will wait until 4 pm for the governor to conduct the oath-taking ceremony or give his consent for the swearing-in to take place in the presence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Speaker Biman Banerjee stated, "The oath-taking ceremony is a constitutional protocol, and it is very unfortunate that we are facing this situation. If the Governor is willing, he can come to the Assembly and administer the oath. We will make all necessary arrangements. We have no objection. But there should not be an impasse." Bandyopadhyay and Sarkar were elected from Baranagar near Calcutta and Bhagwangola in Murshidabad district, respectively.
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