Kolkata, As the deadlock continued over the swearing-in of two newly elected TMC legislators, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday said the Constitution empowers him to decide who should be entrusted with the task of running the oath to MLAs.
Bose said he himself wanted to administer oath to the new legislators at Raj Bhavan, but the president insisted that the governor preside over the oath-taking in the legislative assembly.
"He had no objection to fixing the assembly as the venue, but due to the president's objectionable letter, which undermined the dignity of the governorship, that option was not considered viable," Bose said over the phone from New Delhi.
The deadlock over the oath-taking of TMC's Sayantika Bandyopadhyay and Rayat Hossain Sarkar continued on Wednesday as the governor refused to hold the program in the assembly as requested and instead left for New Delhi.
Upset by the development, the two MLAs said they would write to the governor again and continue their sit-in protest on Thursday too, inside the assembly premises.
A senior Raj Bhavan official said Bose, in his letter to the President, had also indicated that he would prefer to nominate the senior-most member of the SC or ST community assembly before whom the newly elected MLAs would take oath.
However, the Speaker, in his response, said that he would prefer to complete the task himself.
The official informed that in case MLAs start attending assembly sessions without taking oath, a fine of Rs 500 per day will be imposed on them as per law.
Hours earlier, President Biman Banerjee had expressed displeasure over the situation and accused Bose of turning the swearing-in ritual into an "ego battle".
He claimed a stalemate was deliberately created for reasons best known to the governor.
"We were waiting for the governor to come to the assembly, but he did not turn up. The governor has turned this into a battle of egos. He is exercising his powers. I will also consult legal experts to understand my powers," Banerjee said.
Bose said he himself wanted to administer oath to the new legislators at Raj Bhavan, but the president insisted that the governor preside over the oath-taking in the legislative assembly.
"He had no objection to fixing the assembly as the venue, but due to the president's objectionable letter, which undermined the dignity of the governorship, that option was not considered viable," Bose said over the phone from New Delhi.
The deadlock over the oath-taking of TMC's Sayantika Bandyopadhyay and Rayat Hossain Sarkar continued on Wednesday as the governor refused to hold the program in the assembly as requested and instead left for New Delhi.
Upset by the development, the two MLAs said they would write to the governor again and continue their sit-in protest on Thursday too, inside the assembly premises.
A senior Raj Bhavan official said Bose, in his letter to the President, had also indicated that he would prefer to nominate the senior-most member of the SC or ST community assembly before whom the newly elected MLAs would take oath.
However, the Speaker, in his response, said that he would prefer to complete the task himself.
The official informed that in case MLAs start attending assembly sessions without taking oath, a fine of Rs 500 per day will be imposed on them as per law.
Hours earlier, President Biman Banerjee had expressed displeasure over the situation and accused Bose of turning the swearing-in ritual into an "ego battle".
He claimed a stalemate was deliberately created for reasons best known to the governor.
"We were waiting for the governor to come to the assembly, but he did not turn up. The governor has turned this into a battle of egos. He is exercising his powers. I will also consult legal experts to understand my powers," Banerjee said.
