Why actress turned TMC MLA refused to take oath in Raj Bhawan

As per tradition, the Governor assigns either the Speaker of the Assembly or the Deputy Speaker to swear in the legislators. The oath-taking ceremony for the legislators is then held in the state Assembly, while the swearing-in for the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers is held at Raj Bhavan.

On Monday, Banerjee met state Assembly Speaker Biman Bandyopadhayay and informed him about her decision. She had won the Baranagar Assembly constituency, where voting was held along with the last phase Lok Sabha polls on June 1.

Speaking to the media, Speaker Biman Bandyopadhayay said, “This is a lapse on the part of the Governor. He is glaringly breaking constitutional conventions. It is unfortunate that we have to witness this. If his good sense prevails, then he is free to come to the Assembly and administer the oath to the MLAs. I don’t know if the President has ever administered an oath to any mid-term elected MP.”

Sources said Bhagwangola TMC MLA Sarkar will also not attend the swearing-in ceremony in Raj Bhavan on June 25.

There was no official response from Raj Bhavan over the development.

Two years ago, TMC’s Ballygunge MLA Babul Supriyo could not take oath as a legislator even two weeks after his election due to a conflict between the Assembly Speaker and the then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar over who would preside over the swearing-in ceremony. Dhankhar had assigned the job to Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee, citing Article 188 of the Constitution that states new members of legislative assemblies must take “oath before the Governor, or some person appointed on behalf of him”.