West Bengal’s Raj Bhavan has been witness to several precedence-setting incidents. When Gopalkrishna Gandhi was governor, he had ordered a voluntary power cut at Raj Bhavan in May 2008 in solidarity with the people of Kolkata reeling from frequent load-shedding. Gandhi had been in continuous conflict with the Left Front regime over the land acquisition turmoil in Nandigram and Singur.
Jagdeep Dhankhar’s stint as Bengal governor, between 2019 and 2022, saw another period of strenuous ties between Raj Bhavan and the government, of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
However, what has unfolded now surpasses all these episodes. A woman, working as a contractual employee at Raj Bhavan, has, in a police complaint, alleged that current governor CV Ananda Bose tried to bother her.
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The complaint alleges that Bose had made inappropriate proposals on two occasions—April 24 and May 2—on the pretext of helping her with better job prospects. “He (governor) said he will call me at night and told me not to speak about this to anyone. When I rejected (his offer), he tried to touch me. I protested and left,” reads the complaint, citing one such alleged incident.
The TMC, which has been at loggerheads with Bose on various issues, has lapped up the opportunity and launched two of its women ministers—Shashi Panja and Chandrima Bhattacharya—to attack Bose. “We are shocked. If the governor will do such a displeasing act in Raj Bhavan, how can it be acceptable?” said Panja, the state’s women and child development minister.
Bhattacharya, the finance minister, said: “A woman has gone to the police station to file a complaint against the governor, accusing him of nuisance. What kind of incident is this, when the governor says he will create a ‘peace room’ and listen to everyone’s problems, but here the same governor is insulting women?”
Raj Bhavan has swept the finance minister’s entry into the premises for making ‘defamatory and anti-constitutional’ statements, and also that of the police.
Bose, a 73-year-old former bureaucrat who assumed the governor’s office in November 2022, has rubbished the allegations against him and dubbed it as a political ploy. Multiple press releases have been issued by Raj Bhavan, along with a voice note from Bose himself.
“Dear members of the Raj Bhavan staff. I welcome all generous allegations and the frequent innuendos passed on me by a political force. I understand there is more in the offing. But one thing is clear. None of the absurd dramas is going to stop me from a determined effort to expose corruption and curb violence. Character assassination is the last resort of a failing malevolence. Those who engineer these filthy narratives have totally moribund character…” stated the governor’s voice message.
The developments picked up pace on May 2 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Kolkata and spent the night at the governor’s house. The TMC directed its attack towards Modi, asking whether he would question Bose over the allegations.
On May 3, chief minister Mamata Banerjee questioned why Modi was hyping up Sandeshkhali instead of questioning Bose. “He (Modi) has given sandesh (message) on Sandeshkhali, but I did not let any untoward incident happen there. There were land issues, but I solved them through officers. But what is he doing? A young woman, who worked at Raj Bhavan, came out and spoke against the governor’s harassmentâ € æI she had heard of such incidents… The tears of the woman broke my heart. I have seen her video testimony of her. Before plotting something like Sandeshkhali, they should look at themselves,” said Mamata at an election meeting.
TMC sources said that more than cornering the governor, the party was looking to make it an issue about the BJP and Modi’s alleged apathy towards the dignity of women. Women voters are a backbone of the TMC.
The allegations against Bose come at a time when the BJP is already on the backfoot in Karnataka over ally Janata Dal (Secular)’s sitting Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is embroiled in an alleged sex scandal. Prajwal is the grandson of JD(S) Supremo HD Deve Gowda.
While the BJP in Bengal has been trying to corner the TMC by playing up the Sandeshkhali incident, where women of the village hit the streets alleging harassment by local TMC leaders, Mamata’s party has found a counter ammo in the Raj Bhavan row. “Before Sandeshkhali, answer why the governor did this to someone who worked at his home? I have molested her twice,” charged Mamata. “The prime minister came to Raj Bhavan but said nothing about the incident. The woman said she was called at odd hours and subjected to harassment. How dare these people talk about the dignity of our mothers and sisters?”
No FIR could be registered against Bose since he is protected under Article 361 of the Indian Constitution. Article 361 protects the president and governors from criminal proceedings or imprisonment or answering to any court of law during their tenure.
The Kolkata police, though, have started an investigation.
As the governor suspects, the controversy is unlikely to end soon. In his voice message from him, Bose has said he is “waiting for the next grenade and your hidden bullets…. Please fire.” Sources in the Raj Bhavan claimed two individuals employed at the governor’s residence had acted in cahoots with the TMC to defame him.
The TMC believes it has effectively succeeded in putting the BJP in a spot. “We all know that Raj Bhavan functions at the best of BJP leaders. Allegations against Bose can be used to directly target Modi, as the chief minister has done,” he told a party source.
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Published By:
Aditya Mohan Wig
Published On:
May 5, 2024
