Bengal Governor cancels his Cooch Behar tour after EC advice, Trinamool complaint

Kolkata, April 18 (IANS) West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Thursday announced the cancellation of his trip to Cooch Behar, which is going for the polls in the first phase on Friday, saying that he does not want the "dignity of his office to be maligned".

The decision comes after the Election Commission of India had sent a communique to him, suggesting he cancel his trip to Cooch Behar trip since that would amount to a violation of the model code of conduct, while the ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday filed a complaint with the commission accusing the Governor of interfering in and attempting to influence the election in Cooch Behar.

In a statement on Thursday, Ananda Bose said that he does not want the dignity of his office to be maligned and anyone treating him like a pawn in any political game, and hence, he had decided to cancel his tour.

He also claimed that he decided to go to Cooch Behar since he wanted to be with the people on the polling days, but noticed that his intention was being politicized.

According to him, although as per constitutional provisions, no one can restrict the movement of the Governor, he had decided to cancel his Cooch Behar tour since he did not want to be treated as a pawn.

However, the Governor added that he would be available over the phone and email on a 24x7 basis for the common people. He will also be at the Peace Room opened within the Raj Bhavan premises.

--IANS

src/vd