“Shocked, Concerned”: Mamata Banerjee On Bengal Governor’s Resignation

Kolkata, March 6: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, who made headlines over his differences with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has resigned. Bose is currently in Delhi, where he told news agency Press Trust of India that he has “spent enough time at Governor’s office”.

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has been appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that she has not been consulted before the appointment and that the Centre’s move is an “unilateral” decision that “erodes democratic conventions and the dignity of States”.

Sources indicated that that Bose’s resignation is part of a rejig, and Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta has also resigned. “Governors in several states may be replaced, and the list of new Governors and Lieutenant Governors will be released by the Rashtrapati Bhavan soon,” a source said.

Bose, who was appointed the governor of Bengal on November 17, 2022, told PTI: “Yes, I have resigned. I have been the Governor of Bengal for three-and-a-half years; it’s enough for me.”

In her first reaction, Banerjee said she is “shocked and deeply concerned”.

“The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections,” Banerjee said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri R.N. Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal.  He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard. Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure. The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of States,” she added.