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Bengal Governor Ananda Bose quits ahead of Assembly polls; CM Mamata alleges possible ‘pressure’ from Amit Shah
Mamata says informed by Home Minister that T N Governor R N Ravi will replace Ananda Bose
C V Ananda Bose became Governor of Bengal on November 23, 2022. (File Photo)
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose resigned on Thursday (March 5), weeks ahead of Assembly elections in the state.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed “shock” at Ananda Bose’s resignation, and said that she had been informed by Home Minister Amit Shah that he would be replaced by R N Ravi, the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Ravi, who has occupied the Raj Bhavan in Chennai since 2021, has had an intensely adversarial relationship with Chief Minister M K Stalin, and has clashed repeatedly with the elected government over legislation, policy, and protocol.
Sources said Ananda Bose has submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu. The Governor, who was in Delhi on Thursday evening, is said to have cited health issues as the reason for quitting.
“I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C V Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal,” Chief Minister Banerjee posted on X.
“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,” she said.
Banerjee said that the “Union Home Minister [has] just informed me that Shri R N Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He (Home Minister) never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard.”
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“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 said in the post.
Samik Bhattacharya, BJP state president, said: “He (Ananda Bose) has submitted his resignation citing ill health. He is the representative of the President. We all respect him. This is all I can say.”
Ananda Bose became Governor of West Bengal on November 23, 2022, succeeding Jagdeep Dhankhar, who went on to become Vice President of India. Like Dhankhar, Ananda Bose clashed with the state government on a number of issues, including law and order and the appointment of Vice Chancellors in universities.
Ravi, a former IPS officer who has served in the CBI and IB, was Governor of Nagaland and Meghalaya before Tamil Nadu.
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