Babul Supriyo to take oath as TMC MLA today as impasse clears
Dhankhar recently entrusted deputy speaker Asish Banerjee to administer the oath of office to Supriyo. Banerjee, however, refused to carry out the responsibility, saying it is inappropriate for him to perform the duty when the speaker is in office.
Kolkata: Former Union minister Babul Supriyo, who won the April 12 by-election from Kolkata’s Ballygunge assembly seat, will take oath as a Trinamool Congress member of the legislative assembly (MLA) on Wednesday.
An impasse was created over the swearing-in ceremony because seven months ago Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar withdrew assembly speaker Biman Banerjee’s power to administer the oath of office to MLAs. Dhankhar’s September 2021 order potentially opened up another front in the long-running battle between the state’s top constitutional authority and the government.
Dhankhar recently entrusted deputy speaker Asish Banerjee to administer the oath of office to Supriyo. Banerjee, however, refused to carry out the responsibility, saying it is inappropriate for him to perform the duty when the speaker is in office.
On Tuesday, Asish Banerjee agreed to step in since the governor did not respond to the state government’s request to read out the oath to the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.
“I am very happy. All’s well that ends well. It’s a new beginning,” Supriyo told HT.