Assembly Speaker administers oath to 2 TMC MLAs; Governor describes it as a 'violation of the Constitution

PTI, Kolkata, Jul 5, 2024 :  West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, describing the administration of oaths to two newly elected TMC MLAs by the Assembly Speaker as a "violation of the Constitution," a Raj Bhavan official said.

    

"He wrote to the President shortly after Speaker Biman Banerjee administered the oath to two TMC legislators, instead of the Deputy Speaker who was authorised by Bose for the task," the official added.

"The Governor has written to President Droupadi Murmu regarding the Speaker's constitutional impropriety. In his letter, the Governor also emphasised that the Bengal Speaker administering oaths to two MLAs at the state Assembly violates the Constitution," the Raj Bhavan official told PTI.

After a month-long impasse between Raj Bhavan and the assembly, two TMC legislators — Rayat Hossain Sarkar from Bhagwangola in Murshidabad district and Sayantika Banerjee from Baranagar on the northern outskirts of Kolkata — took oath during a special session of the state assembly.

In a statement on X, Bose referred to Article 188 of the Constitution and said, "The Speaker has cited certain Rules. Can any Rule be above the Constitution? It is elementary knowledge that the Constitution supersedes any Rule".

The Article states that "Every member of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council of a State shall, before taking his seat, make and subscribe before the Governor, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule."

"This constitutional breach occurred despite the Governor appointing the Deputy Speaker to administer the oath to the two newly elected MLAs," the post added.