Trinamool Congress accuses Bengal Governor of molesting woman in Raj Bhavan on pretext of job; Bose rubbishes allegation, bans entry of cops into Raj Bhavan

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress claimed that a woman was allegedly molested by West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose under the "false pretext" of giving her a job, a charge rubbished by Bose.

Alleging that some “derogatory narratives” were circulated by two “disgruntled employees” as agents of political parties, the Governor said he would not be “cowed down by engineered narratives”.

“Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God Bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption,” Bose said on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

<

“Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God Bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal.”

— Raj Bhavan Kolkata (@BengalGovernor) May 2, 2024 >

The Trinamool Congress in a post on X claimed the “sanctity of Raj Bhavan, a symbol of our constitutionality, has been tarnished,” describing it as “appalling and unthinkable”.

"Hours before PM Narendra Modi was supposed to arrive at Raj Bhavan to spend the night, a woman was allegedly molested by the Governor under the false pretext of job. Such despicable behaviour must be condemned in the strongest terms. Justice must be delivered swiftly for the victim – no excuses, no delays, " the party said.

State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya in a Bengali video message strongly condemned “the alleged misconduct by the Governor of West Bengal”, and said such behaviour was “unbecoming of any official, especially the Head of State. "

She called for an immediate and thorough investigation, and said “Justice must be served. "

Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghosh claimed the woman has alleged that she was “molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. "

She said on X that the complainant had been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint.

“The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful, " she said, adding “Molestation charges against Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose puts the prestige of the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata at stake.”

Taking strong exception to Bhattacharjee’s statement, the governor announced that she has been “banned entry into the Raj Bhavan premises of Kolkata, Darjeeling and Barrackpore.”

<

pic.twitter.com/RO7841ZalB

— Raj Bhavan Kolkata (@BengalGovernor) May 2, 2024 >

The Governor also “instructed his office that he will not participate in any function attended by the Minister," the Raj Bhavan said on X.

The governor also banned entry of police into the Raj Bhavan premises “in the guise of conducting unauthorised, illegitimate, sham and motivated “investigation” to placate political bosses during elections.”