New Delhi: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has issued defamation notices worth Rs 11 crore each to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hussain Sarkar. This is the first instance of a governor serving defamation notices to ruling party legislators in any state of the country.
The controversy stems from allegations that the two MLAs took their oaths illegally and defamed former Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar while staging a dharna (sit-in protest). According to governor Bose, their oath-taking was unconstitutional, as they disobeyed the directive to take the oath before the deputy speaker. Instead, they followed the speaker, who had assumed the role after being handed over the rights by the deputy speaker.
The governor’s legal action demands a total of Rs 22 crore in damages. This is likely to escalate tensions between the Raj Bhavan and the ruling TMC.
