West Bengal Assembly Speaker Backs Swearing-in Convention Amid Raj Bhavan Dispute

West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee supports the swearing-in of four newly elected TMC MLAs within the House, amid a month-long dispute with Raj Bhavan. The Speaker emphasizes adhering to established legislative conventions. Parliamentary Minister Sovandeb Chatterjee is expected to request Raj Bhavan for the Speaker to administer the oaths.

The West Bengal Assembly Speaker, Biman Banerjee, has affirmed his preference for the swearing-in of four newly elected TMC MLAs within the House premises, adhering to well-established legislative conventions.

This affirmation follows a month-long conflict between the Trinamool Congress and Raj Bhavan over the oath-taking process for MLAs Sayantika Bandyopadhyay and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, victorious in the June bypolls from Baranagar and Bhagabangola, respectively.

On July 5, Banerjee administered the oath to two newly elected TMC MLAs, overriding the Deputy Speaker who had been authorized by Governor C V Ananda Bose. Moving forward, ahead of the induction of four new TMC legislators—Supti Pande from Maniktala, Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj, Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat-Dakshin, and Madhuparna Thakur from Bagdah—Banerjee emphasized the conventional role of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker in administering oaths within the assembly.

The bypolls were necessitated by the resignations and subsequent runs for the Lok Sabha by Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj, Biswajit Das from Bagdah, and Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat Dakshin. The by-election in Maniktala was held due to the death of Sadhan Pandey in 2022. Parliamentary Minister Sovandeb Chatterjee is now set to formally request Raj Bhavan for the Speaker to proceed with the swearing-in of the new MLAs.