July 5th 2024.
In a surprising turn of events, two newly elected TMC MLAs were sworn in by West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Friday, despite the Governor's instructions to have Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee perform the task. This has sparked allegations of violating constitutional norms from Raj Bhavan.
Due to this incident, Governor CV Ananda Bose has taken action by sending a report to President Droupadi Murmu, stating that the Speaker's actions were against constitutional guidelines. A senior official from Raj Bhavan revealed that Bose had written to the President, emphasizing that the oaths administered by the Bengal Speaker in the state Assembly were not in line with the Constitution.
The special one-day session of the Assembly was adjourned after the MLAs took their oaths. This ended the month-long disagreement between Raj Bhavan and the Assembly over where the ceremony would take place and who would administer the oath.
Governor Bose had initially authorized Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee to administer the oaths on Friday, but later changed his mind and stated that the ceremony would take place at Raj Bhavan instead. However, during the special session, Deputy Speaker Banerjee declined to perform the task in the presence of the Speaker, stating that it would be disrespectful.
In response, Biman Banerjee took it upon himself to administer the oaths to the two TMC MLAs, amidst cheers and chants of "Jai Bangla" from other members of the Assembly. Deputy Speaker Banerjee defended his decision by stating that he was following the Assembly's rules, specifically Rule 5 which states that he cannot administer oaths in the presence of the Speaker.
Later in the day, Raj Bhavan released a statement on social media informing that a report was being sent to the President, highlighting the constitutional impropriety of the Speaker administering the oaths instead of the Deputy Speaker as authorized by the Governor. The statement also reiterated that the Constitution takes precedence over any Assembly rule.
A Raj Bhavan official also confirmed that in his report to the President, Governor Bose had expressed that the Speaker's actions were a violation of the Constitution. In response, Speaker Biman Banerjee asserted that the Governor does not have the authority to dismiss him and that he has already informed the President about the situation, seeking her intervention.
The Speaker had previously reached out to the President about this matter, claiming that the Governor was turning it into an ego battle. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay also defended the proceedings, stating that they followed Rule 5 of the Assembly proceedings and that the Governor's appointed Deputy Speaker had recused himself due to the presence of the Speaker, which would have been disrespectful.
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