Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday called off his two-day visit to Alipur Duar in North Bengal that was scheduled to begin on April 18 following a complaint by the Trinamool Congress. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC alleged that CV Ananda Bose's plans to visit Alipurduar a day ahead of the Lok Sabha polls would interfere with the level playing field for the party.
Earlier on Thursday, the TMC alleged that Governor Ananda Bose was “illegally interfering” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, slated to begin on Friday. The TMC accused Bose of trying to visit the constituencies during the “silent period” on polling days. The TMC, in a written complaint, sought the Election Commission's interference.
Reacting to the complaint, the Governor said: "My priority is to be with the people of Bengal. My focus is to fight against violence in the state, particularly during the elections. My field visits are for these purposes, but there is an attempt to politicise the Governor’s office. I will not let anyone lower the dignity of the office of the Governor. I will not allow anyone to use me as a pawn on the political chessboard."
He further said: "Under the Constitution of India, no one can restrict the movement of a Governor. However, I do not want to get involved in the unsavoury political controversy around me. I am available to the people in the Peace Room over email and telephone 24x7. Because of unsavoury political implications, I am calling off my visit to North Bengal today."
Alipurduar is among the three constituencies in Bengal going to polls on April 19. The other two are Coochbehar and Jalpaiguri. Bengal will go to polls in all seven phases.
TMC had filed a similar complaint last month as well, alleging that Governor CV Ananda Bose was “illegally interfering” in the Lok Sabha elections and trying to establish a “parallel office” similar to that of the Election Commission of India.