‘Engineered narratives’: Bengal governor denies molestation charges against him

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday (May 2) denied charges of sexual abuse levelled by the Trinamool Congress against him and said he will not be cowed down by "engineered narratives" and the "truth shall triumph".

Earlier in the day TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against Bose.

“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,” Bose said in a statement.

TMC leaders condemn ‘molestation’

The TMC in a series of social media posts, had alleged that the woman who was allegedly molested by Bose has been taken to a police station lodge a complaint against him.

Senior police officials said they received a complaint and are looking into it.

"We have received a complaint and are conducting an investigation. We are also consulting the matter with constitutional experts of the law department. As per the woman's allegation, she was molested inside Raj Bhavan," Deputy Commissioner of Central Division Indira Mukherjee told reporters.

TMC leaders uploaded posts on social media about the alleged incident.

"BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.

Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also raised the issue in a post on X.

West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is "shameful" that the governor has maligned his post and has used it to "torture a woman".

"It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women's rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue," she said.

Woman is settling scores: Raj Bhavan

Governor House sources have presented a different story and claim that the woman employee has made the accusations against the governor after she was reprimanded for “blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India” with the “help of her alleged boyfriend, who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan”.

“When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease,” the Raj Bhavan communique said.

Strained Raj Bhavan-state govt ties

The West Bengal governor and the ruling TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.

In a separate statement from Raj Bhawan, the governor banned the entry of West Bengal Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya into the Raj Bhavan premises of Kolkata, Darjeeling and Barrackpore for "defamation and anti-constitutional media statements".

"The governor has also instructed his office that he will not participate in any function attended by the minister. The attorney general for India has been contacted for advice on further legal steps against the minister," the Raj Bhavan statement said.

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

The BJP said it has to be seen whether this is a "conspiracy by the TMC" or has an "iota of truth in it".

"We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it," BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.

(With inputs from agencies)