WEST Bengal Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay on Monday said he has summoned senior CBI and Enforcement Directorate officers on September 22 to explain why no permission had been taken from the Speaker’s office before submitting chargesheets against legislators of the State in recent times. Bandopadhyay said the Speaker’s office was not kept in the loop and no permission was taken from it while initiating action against the elected representatives. Several legislators of the ruling Trinamool Congress, including ministers, had been chargesheeted and have been summoned in recent times by the two central probe agencies for their alleged involvement in ponzi scam cases and the Narada sting footage case. Bandyopadhyay told PTI “I have sought an explanation from CBI and ED why the speaker’s office is not being informed while framing chargesheets against MLAs and summoning them.

 

A letter has been sent to the city offices of the two central agencies. “In the letter I have asked the ED and CBI officers to come to the Assembly on September 22 and give an explanation as to why the Speaker’s office was not provided any prior information and why action was taken without seeking any permission from me,” he said. TMC leaders like Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Kunal Ghosh had maintained that the investigating agencies always inform the Speaker of the Lok Sabha for any such action (chargesheet) against MPs but the practice is not followed concerning MLAs in Bengal. It is the norm to intimate the head of the House concerned before its member - MP, MLA or MLC is arrested, detained or convicted.