Kolkata:
Trinamool leader Babul Supriyo and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar were engaged in a battle of words over who would swear to the TMC leader elected to the assembly by Ballygunge constituency.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had appointed Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee as the person to take the oath to Babul Supriyo, the newly elected member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from the 161-Ballygunge Assembly constituency.
“The appointment of the Honorable Vice-President Dr Asish Banerjee as the person to take the oath to Shri Babul Supriyo, elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from 161-Ballygunge Assembly constituency, is in accordance with Article 188 of the Constitution,” Mr Dhanchar tweeted on Sunday.
However, the vice-chairman declined to take the oath, saying it would be an insult to the speaker.
Commenting on Mr Banerjee’s appointment to take the oath, Mr Supriyo tweeted: “In the interest of the people of Ballygunge, who have not had an MLA for several months since Subroto Mukherjee passed away, I would like to thank your Excellency @ jdhankhar1 ji request to reverse the decision and allow the Honorable Speaker to preside over my swearing-in so that I can begin my work.”
In another tweet, Mr Dhankhar wrote: “Public domain request of Shri Babul Supriyo elected to West Bengal Legislative Assembly from 161-Ballygunge Assembly constituency seeking Governor for the Honorable Speaker to be sworn in is not acceptable because it is not in accordance with the Constitution.”
“Notice dated April 27 @SuPriyoBabul, eleven days after issuance of the Certificate of Election, to the Honorable President for his oath as MLA is legally flawed and unhealthy optics, as the President has no role or constitutional authority in this matter unless so assigned by the governor,” the Bangladesh governor added.
The Ballygunge Assembly seat bypoll was required after the death of Minister of State Subrata Mukherjee. On 12 April, polls were held for one Asansol parliamentary constituency and one Ballygunge assembly constituency in West Bengal.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)