West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused Governor CV Ananda Bose, accused of molestation by a former employee of Raj Bhavan, of showing ‘edited’ CCTV footage of the premises of May 2 to the common people. Demanding the Governor’s resignation, Banerjee said she would not visit the Raj Bhavan till Bose holds the constitutional chair.
Addressing a Lok Sabha Election rally in Hooghly, the Trinamool Congress Chief said, “Governor CV Ananda Bose should resign. He has tortured women… He must explain why he should not resign…Bengal Guv released edited CCTV footage of Raj Bhavan, I watched the entire video and its contents are shocking.”
Stating that she will not visit Raj Bhavan till Bose remains Bengal Governor, the Chief Minister said, “I feel sitting beside him is also sin.”
Without directly referring to the recent screening of CCTV footage at Raj Bhavan for the public earlier this week, Mamata Banerjee said that she had got a copy of the original footage and the edited version.
“I have kept it with myself. I have also got the edited copy. All are yet to be revealed. Today I received yet another pen-drive. What authority do you have to harass a woman?” Mamata Banerjee questioned.
Without directly naming Bose, the Chief Minister also referred to the recent statement by the Governor that he will not tolerate high-handedness over Raj Bhavan.
“What is my fault? You are saying that you will not tolerate high-handedness. Just tell us when you will resign,” the Chief Minister said.
Mamata Banerjee also claimed that the BJP had started smelling an election disaster since the end of the third phase of polls on May 7.
“They are crying after the third phase of polls. Just wait and watch what transpires in the coming days,” she said.
Mamata Banerjee also alleged that Trinamool Congress leaders were constantly receiving threatening calls, warning them of dire consequences if they do not stay out of the polls.
“We are not scared of anyone. If we can end the 34-year-long Left Front rule in West Bengal, we can surely throw BJP out of power in the country,” she said.
The allegation came a day after Bose on Thursday showed May 2 CCTV footage of Raj Bhavan premises to the common people. Footage from two CCTV cameras positioned at the main (north) gate, spanning from 5.32 pm to 6.41 pm on May 2, was shown to a select group of people and journalists at the Central Marble Hall on the ground floor of Raj Bhavan.
A contractual woman employee of Raj Bhavan had last week lodged a written complaint with Kolkata Police alleging that she was molested by Bose in the governor’s house on April 24 and May 2. However, in the entire footage, Governor Bose could not be seen.
In the first footage, the woman, dressed in blue jeans and a top, was seen going to the police outpost housed within the governor’s house, with many policemen deployed on Raj Bhavan premises for the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The second footage, which lasted for around 10 minutes, showed various vehicles including fire tenders arriving at the gate, and policemen lining up for their regular duties but the woman could not be seen coming out of the next room.
According to the investigating officers of Kolkata Police, the complainant has alleged that she was molested inside the conference room of Raj Bhavan.
During the entire screening, neither Bose nor any official of the governor’s house were present. Even after the screening was over, there was no official briefing to clarify the purpose of screening the CCTV footage.
With inputs from News18