WB governor questions oath, imposes Rs 500 fine on two TMC MLAs

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has asked Trinamool Congress MLAs Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain Sarkar to pay a fine of Rs 500 each day for attending Assembly proceedings, questioning the legality of their swearing, Scroll reported.

Legislative Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee administered oath on July 5 to Sayantika Banerjee who won from Baranagar and Sarkar from the Bhagabangola Assembly constituency in bye-elections on June 5.

Bose had invited both the MLAs to take oath at the Raj Bhavan which they declined asking him instead to carry out it in the Assembly or assign Biman Banerjee to administer the process, thus causing a delay in the ceremony.

Hours after Assembly speaker summoned a special session over the impasse, Bose authorised Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee to administer the oath.

However, the governor on Monday wrote to MLAs claiming that the Speaker had “no jurisdiction in the matter” as the “constitutional head of the state designated someone to administer the oath”, according to the report.

After receiving the letter, Sayantika Banerjee reportedly showed it to the speaker who was quoted as responding that he ‘will take a decision’.

“We understand we have no problem in attending the session as elected representatives after taking oath in the temple of democracy – the state legislature,” she was quoted as saying.

When asked about her fine imposed by the governor, the MLA asked why had to pay the fine, adding ‘Have we done anything illegal or improper?’

Meanwhile, the governor had accused the speaker of “violation of the Constitution’.

A statement by the Raj Bhavan said that a report on it has been sent to the President ‘about the Constitutional impropriety of the Speaker in administering the oath of affirmation to the newly-elected MLAs.’