West Bengal Assembly Speaker summons special session; says everything not in Governor’s hands

West Bengal State Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee said on July 4 that “everything is not in the hands of the Governor”, and called a special session of the House on Friday.

The Speaker’s move comes amid the ongoing impasse over the swearing-in ceremony of the two newly elected Trinamool Congress MLAs, Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain.

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Governor C.V. Ananda Bose had earlier invited the two MLAs to the Raj Bhavan for the oath-taking ceremony, but they refused it citing procedural norms. They later began a protest, demanding that the Governor administer the oath of office to them in the Assembly. The MLAs continued their sit-in on Thursday with placards that said, “We are waiting for the Governor.”

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Banerjee said the Business Advisory Committee meeting has been scheduled for Friday noon, and the tenure of the session will be decided then. The special session is set to begin at 2 p.m..

‘Assembly not helpless’

The Speaker added, “If someone thinks that we are helpless, then he or she is wrong. The Assembly is not helpless, and everything is not in the hands of the Governor. You can’t just force everything down our throats; there are rules, regulations, and constitutional norms. All of us must abide by them.”

The two MLAs, who got elected from the Baranagar and Bhagabangola seats in the recently concluded byelection, have not assumed their roles in the Assembly as their swearing-in ceremony has been delayed. The Speaker had previously sought President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention in the matter.

He said, “The Governor is deliberately creating an impasse. He has turned it into an ego battle. This matter should be resolved so that the MLAs can take oath.”

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had previously commented on the matter and said women “do not feel safe” at the Raj Bhavan and hence the MLAs had rejected the Governor’s offer to conduct the oath-taking ceremony at his residence. Ms. Banerjee was alluding to the harassment charges levelled against the Governor by a female staffer of the Raj Bhavan recently.