Newly elected TMC MLAs Rayat Hossain Sarkar and Sayantika Banerjee walk for a sit-in protest for their swearing-in ceremony, in Kolkata.
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: Two newly-elected Trinamool Congress MLAs staged sit-in protest at the West Bengal Assembly premises for the sixth day on Thursday, demanding that they be administered the oath of office in the House rather than at Raj Bhavan, following an invitation from Governor C V Ananda Bose.
Baranagar MLA Sayantika Bandyopadhyay and Bhagabangola legislator Rayat Hossain Sarkar started their sit-in protest on June 27 and continued with it on June 28, July 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Despite being declared winners in the assembly by-polls, they have yet to commence their roles as elected representatives due to the pending swearing-in process.
Speaker Biman Banerjee, who previously sought the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu on this matter, will address the press later in the day.
Bandyopadhyay and Sarkar have resumed their sit-in protest near the statue of B R Ambedkar in the assembly premises, holding placards that read "We are waiting for the Governor." The two MLAs were elected during the by-polls held concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections but have refused to take oath at Raj Bhavan. They argue that convention dictates the Governor should assign either the Speaker of the House or the Deputy Speaker to administer the oath in the case of by-poll winners.
The governor had invited them to take the oath at Raj Bhavan last Wednesday, which they declined, citing procedural norms.