The cold-war between West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee has reached a peak with the Governor filing a defamation case against the Chief Minister, probably first of its kind in the independent- India.
Governor filed the suit at the Calcutta High Court on Friday. The suit comes a day after she claimed that women complained to her saying that they were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan because of the activities there.
Earlier in the day, before filing the defamation, Governor Bose criticised CM Mamata Banerjee for her remarks and stated it was expected of public representatives not to create “erroneous and slanderous” impressions. According to sources, Bose also named certain TMC leaders in defamation suits for making similar remarks.
Mamata held an administrative meeting in the state secretariat on Thursday, where she claimed, “Women have informed me they are afraid to visit Raj Bhavan due to recent incidents reported there”.
The recent friction emerged after a contractual woman employee of Raj Bhavan, on May 2, alleged molestation by Governor Bose following which the Kolkata Police also started a probe.
Senior TMC leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen denied to comment on the matter and said that she will talk to her party leadership first. “I have to talk to my party leadership to find out what actually happened. This is quite a sensitive matter,” Sen said.
After the defamation suit was filed, the BJP came in support of the governor. Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said that Bose took the right decision. “I think Governor Bose has taken the right decision. He should have taken this decision long back. I fully support him for this,” he said.
However, veteran CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty deplored that the tussle between Bose and Banerjee is not helping the state. “It’s actually taking us down. They seem to have forgotten their Constitutional responsibilities. Their acts are damaging West Bengal’s image at the national level,” he added.