Amid the heightening tensions between West Bengal Raj Bhavan and CM house, Governor CV Ananda Bose, on Friday, filed a defamation case against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Calcutta High Court. 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, a source said.
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.
What had Mamata said?
It is worth mentioning that on Thursday, Mamata held an administrative meeting in the state secretariat where she claimed, "Women have informed her they are afraid to visit Raj Bhavan due to recent incidents reported there".
PTI quoted its sources and said, "Governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday moved the Calcutta High Court and filed a defamation suit against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party leaders for their comments."
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.
Parties react on defamation case
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," Sinha said.
Veteran CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said 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," Chakraborty said.
(With PTI inputs)
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