Kolkata: ‘Vande Mataram’ played in the assembly as Bengal kept up with its tradition of electing the speaker of the House unanimously on Friday. Cooch Behar South MLA Rathin Bose was elected speaker as Trinamool stayed away from contest.In a display of democratic ethos, Bose was escorted to the speaker’s chair by CM Suvendu Adhikari and leader of opposition Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.The first speaker of the assembly from north Bengal, Bose, said in his address that the assembly was “not a place for fighting.” “We don’t believe in a culture where members are assaulted while assembly functions,” he said.Taking over his responsibilities, Bose announced that the budget session would commence on June 18 and the budget would be presented on June 22.Former finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya had presented a vote-on-account budget on Feb 5 ahead of the elections. It is expected that the Suvendu Adhikari-led govt will announce the name of its finance minister before the budget.Meanwhile in the assembly, the CM requested the speaker to ensure members of the opposition are accorded respect and time to speak.Emphasising that a healthy democracy needed a “constructive opposition”, Adhikari urged lawmakers to maintain decency in language and participate robustly in discussions.
