‘I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives,’ Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose reacts to sex harassment allegation

Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose rejected claims of sexual harassment made by an employee at the Raj Bhavan.

Bose further labelled the allegations as an “engineered narrative”.

In a post on X, Raj Bhavan Kolkata said, “To the Raj Bhavan staff who expressed solidarity with Hon'ble Governor Dr. C. V. Ananda Bose against whom some derogatory narratives were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties, Hon'ble Governor said”.

“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,” it further added.

The Governor's statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.

Earlier on Thursday, Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose accused Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose of 'molesting' a woman. In a post on X, Ghose stated that a woman claimed she was molested when she visited the Governor at Raj Bhavan that day.

“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose 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 post read.

Another Trinamool Congress MP, Saket Gokhale, also posted about the issue on his X account.

West Bengal's Minister for Women and Child Development, Shashi Panja, criticized the Governor's actions, calling it "shameful." She said, “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.

PTI reported citing sources in the Governor House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.

A Raj Bhavan said, “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.”

Since assuming office in November 2022, the West Bengal Governor and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government have strained relationships with frequent clashes over various issues.

(With inputs from PTI)