Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar has expressed his wish to address the ongoing budget session of the Bengal Assembly with many in the state's corridors of power being flummoxed by his unusual desire.

Speaker Biman Banerjee informed reporters in his chamber on Tuesday about the request from Dhankhar who was the Bengal governor before C.V. Ananda Bose took charge.

Since there is no provision for allowing the Vice-president — who serves as the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha — to speak in the Assembly, Speaker Banerjee has decided to convene a special session after the budget session for Dhankhar to deliver the address.

"This is strange, rather weird. Given that it's him (Dhankhar), one can never be fully sure of how this will pan out," said a senior on the Treasury benches.

"We were stumped by his request," he added.

A special business advisory committee meeting will take place on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

“We are really happy that he has wished to address the Assembly and this is unprecedented in the state. But as there is no provision in the budget session, we have decided to convene a special session of the Assembly and invite him to deliver his speech,” Banerjee said in his chamber on Tuesday.

In September 2013, Mohammad Hamid Ansari addressed a special sitting of the Kerala Assembly to commemorate its 125th anniversary.

In October 2021, then Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu spoke at a special session of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly. He also addressed the legislators of the Mizoram Assembly in March 2022 during a special session on the concluding day of the budget session.

Asked about the content of the speech by Dhankhar, sources said he wanted to "express his love for Bengal" and "promised not to criticise the state government".

“His speech will mainly focus on his experiences during his stay in Bengal for three years as governor,” said a senior official.

Asked when the session was likely to take place, the official said: “This budget session will be adjourned on February 19 and it will resume on March 10 and continue for another 10 days. The special session is likely to take place between them. However, things will be finally decided at the business advisory committee meeting."

Dhankhar's tenure as the governor between 2019 and 2022 was mired in controversy and marked the nadir of the Raj Bhavan-Nabanna relationship. Sources on the Treasury benches said he wanted to move past the "bitterness" and express his love for Bengal.

The BJP, however, has other expectations.

“He is an outstanding statesman and the people of Bengal are thankful to him. We can never forget what he did after post-poll violence here in 2021," said the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari.

"We request him not to read the speech drafted by the state government. He should read his own speech. I will also write to him asking him to do so once it is officially announced,” he added.