TMC MLAs on dharna as swearing-in delayed due to guv standoff

KOLKATA: Newly elected Trinamool Congress MLAs Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain Sarkar staged a dharna on the steps of West Bengal assembly on Wednesday afternoon due to a delay in their swearing-in following a disagreement between the Raj Bhavan and them.
Governor C V Ananda Bose had invited actor-turned-politician Sayantika and Reyat - elected from Baranagar and Bhagwangola, respectively, in the recent bypolls - to take their oaths at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.However, the MLAs had written to the governor, expressing their desire to take the oath in the state assembly. These letters remained unanswered and Bose departed for Delhi later in the day.
The new MLAs held placards reading "Waiting for the arrival of Honourable Governor for Oath (sic)" during their dharna. MLAs Madan Mitra and Nayana Das also joined the demonstration. Sayantika and Reyat plan to continue their protest Thursday.
Assembly speaker Biman Banerjee announced that the assembly would seek legal advice, as the governor had not delegated anyone to administer the oath to the new MLAs. The speaker also held a meeting with law minister Moloy Ghatak to discuss the issue and might write to the President to resolve the impasse.
This is seen as a result of ongoing rift between governor and Trinamool govt, which escalated after a former Raj Bhavan staffer accused Bose of molesting her.