Kolkata, May 12 -- Six-time legislator and veteran BJP leader Tapas Roy on Tuesday took oath as the pro-tem Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly. Governor R.N. Ravi administered the oath of office to him at Lok Bhavan.

Roy will administer the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected legislators in the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday and Thursday. A pro-tem Speaker is a temporary presiding officer who conducts the proceedings of a newly elected Lok Sabha or State Assembly before the election of a regular Speaker.

Roy is the seniormost legislator among the BJP's 207 MLAs. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1996 as a Congress MLA from the Vidyasagar Assembly Constituency. The BJP has formed its first government in West Bengal since Independence.

"Earlier, the Assembly was ruled from Nabanna. There were no rules and principles. Now, the Assembly will be conducted according to Constitutional rules and regulations. There will be space for the Opposition," Roy said on Tuesday. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and five ministers in his council of ministers - Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Khudiram Tudu, Nishith Pramanik and Ashok Kirtania - were present at the swearing-in ceremony of the pro-tem Speaker. Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal and state Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh also attended the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the first session of the 18th Legislative Assembly of West Bengal will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, during which the newly elected members will take oath as legislators over two days.

On Wednesday, between 11 am and 1.30 pm, Chief Minister Adhikari, along with Cabinet ministers, will take oath as members of the Assembly. MLAs from Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad will also take oath during the same session. MLAs from Nadia, North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas will take oath between 2 pm and 4.30 pm. On Thursday, MLAs from Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapore and Jhargram will take oath between 11 am and 1.30 pm, while MLAs from West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, East Burdwan, West Burdwan and Birbhum will take oath between 2 pm and 4.30 pm on the second day.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.