Regional imbalances in West Bengal led to disconnect between govt and people: Governor Bose

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose refrained from evaluating his constitutional colleague, Mamata Banerjee, but made it clear that he was "more concerned" about her performance as Chief Minister than as a politician.

Kolkata: Days before completing two years in office, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose drew upon his grassroots experiences to highlight "regional imbalances" between the state’s northern and southern districts and claimed that lack of prosperity in the former region has led to a "disconnect" between the state government and its people.

Speaking exclusively to PTI about various issues, Bose refrained from evaluating his constitutional colleague, Mamata Banerjee, but made it clear that he was "more concerned" about her performance as Chief Minister than as a politician.

Expressing satisfaction with his tenure in office so far, Bose said, "These two years have taught me many positive things. It is a very refined state, which gives a lot of emphasis on art and culture." "But the state has some problems especially in north Bengal, where there are regional imbalances and a disconnect that arises because of that," he added, while explaining that "economic backwardness" in districts north of the Ganga has led to that "detachment" of people from the state administration.

Bose took over as Governor on November 23, 2022, from his predecessor, now Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Since then Bose has had several run-ins with the West Bengal government over various issues, including the appointment of vice-chancellors to state universities, Kolkata Police's alleged snooping on his office, and, most notably, the allegations of sexual molestation made against him by a woman contractual worker of Raj Bhavan.

"Mamata Banerjee’s evaluation will be kept confidential. It will first be informed to appropriate competent authorities," Bose said.

"But from a common man's perspective or as a Constitutional colleague, my concern is the performance of the Chief Minister and not that of a politician. I don't want to bring politics into my purview of how she functions as a leader. Let political leaders of the other parties decide that, not me as Governor," he added.

The Governor, however, emphasised that he maintains a strong professional relationship with the CM, but added, "Politician Mamata Banerjee is not my cup of tea." Speaking about his achievements in office, Bose said, "My biggest takeaway is the understanding of the mind of Bengal, which has brought me closer to its people. I would like to be the Governor who is accessible to the people. Some media called me 'Ground Zero Governor', and I am delighted. I want to be in Ground Zero," Bose said.

"Whenever there is trouble, I go to the field, to the place of incident, to the hospital, to the families of the victims, and try to support them in whichever way I can as a Governor.

"I am not a Governor who wants to rule by reports. I don't want filtered information. I want to be directly in touch with people," he said.

Responding to the alleged molestation incident involving a woman employee at Raj Bhavan, Bose expressed his disgust and described the matter as "false and fabricated by a woman with a criminal intent".

"Some false and fabricated allegations were made against me as an individual. That was done by a woman who has a criminal mentality. I have filed a suit before the Calcutta High Court," Bose clarified.

Referring to reports from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) regarding financial irregularities in Bengal, the former IAS officer alleged that the state government had violated the Constitution by not placing these reports in the Assembly.

"This calls for a very serious look into the grave financial management of the state. The Constitutional obligation of the government is to place the report of the CAG in the Assembly. That has not been done by this government, which is a constitutional violation," he alleged.

Asked about the law and order situation in the state, especially in light of rising criminal cases such as the RG Kar incident, Bose refrained from making a direct comparison with other parts of the country.

"But one thing which I am convinced of is that the two enemies of Bengal society are violence and corruption," he said.

"I cannot comment on a particular incident, but from media reports and after interacting with people, I find there is a growing feeling that violence and corruption allegedly linked to the RG Kar incident could have been prevented by the government. There is also a sense among people that the government has not taken effective action against it. Since the matter is sub-judice, I do not want to comment on the merits of that at this stage," he said.

Discussing his future plans for the people of Bengal, Bose said he prioritized his "duty, responsibility, and the authority to intervene when there is a violation of the Constitution".

"As far as violence is concerned, the right to life is a fundamental right. As a Governor, it's my duty to see that Constitutional rights are protected. I will certainly take up the fight against violence with all the strength that I have under the Constitution," he said.

Looking ahead, Bose expressed his desire to launch people-oriented programmes during his third year in office and added that he plans to link these initiatives with the welfare and development activities of the government of India.