Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: CV Ananda Bose, who stepped down as West Bengal governor after a sudden resignation, said on Sunday the move was a “conscious decision,” even though he remained tight lipped about the reasons for his exit.Bose said the reason behind his resignation will “remain confidential till the right time comes”.Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport, Bose told news agency PTI that he, however, would return to Bengal to cast his vote.Bose, a native of Kerala, had shifted his voting base to Bengal barely a week before tendering resignation from his office.“I took a conscious decision to put in my papers, the reasons of which will remain confidential till the right time arrives,” Bose said.He compared his three-and-a-half-year tenure in office to a game of cricket in a tangential reference to the cause of his exit and said the rules of the game include the knowledge of when it is supposed to end.Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport following his return from Delhi, Bose said that he had tendered his resignation from the city before leaving for the national capital.“I spent over 1200 days in office. That’s equivalent to scoring 12 centuries on the cricket field. The rules of the game include knowing when it ends,” the former governor said.“I took a conscious decision to put in my papers, the reasons of which will remain confidential till the right time arrives. I was given enough opportunity to decide for myself what the right time to quit should be. I knew the day I assumed the office that time would come when I would have to vacate it,” Bose added, rebutting suggestions that his exit was sudden and abrupt.Speaking about the governor reshuffle, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had alleged on Saturday that Bose was forced to quit in the face of threats from the BJP top brass.“I know what led to the sudden exit of the governor. He was threatened. Not everyone will allow the Raj Bhavan to be converted into BJPs’ party office. They used the space for money distribution, throwing all Constitutional propriety to the winds,” the TMC supremo had said.Asked for a response, Bose said it would be “inappropriate” for a departing governor to speak on the matter under “current circumstances”.Bose avoided a direct response when asked to comment on the angst expressed by President Droupadi Murmu on alleged protocol violations and tribal deprivation in the state.“The President is very experienced, balanced and an extremely dignified person. She must have had her reasons for saying what she said. But I am no one to comment on what the President said,” the ex-Bengal governor said.President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday expressed strong displeasure after TMC-ruled West Bengal government changed the venue of an event she was supposed to attend. Later, the row over last-minute venue change in President Murmu’s Santhal event escalated, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming the TMC government in the state and claiming that they were against tribal communities.Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee hit back at the BJP for “using” the President to “malign” the state, advising Murmu to “not indulge in politics”. Earlier, Murmu had flagged concerns over venue change accusing the state administration of choosing a place where “Santhal people can’t go”.
