West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has resigned, sending his resignation letter to the President of India ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
Bose, who was appointed Bengal governor 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.”
He, however, did not disclose the grounds of his sudden resignation and whether there was any political pressure that may have prompted his decision.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has been appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal. Ravi is a retired 1976-batch Kerala-cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He holds a postgraduate degree in physics and has served in both the CBI and the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
In 2014, he was appointed Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in the Prime Minister’s Office. He later served as Deputy National Security Advisor in 2018. After retirement, he was appointed Governor of Nagaland and also held additional charge as Governor of Meghalaya.
Ravi’s tenure as Tamil Nadu Governor has been marked by frequent confrontations with the DMK government. Last month, he skipped the customary address to the state Assembly after reiterating that the national anthem should be played alongside the state anthem at the start of the session.
CM Mamata Banerjee reacts
Reacting to Bose’s decision, CM Mamata Banerjee expressed shock and posted on X, “I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Governor C. V. Ananda Bose. 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. 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.”
