The battle between Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee reached the next level with the TMC leader on Wednesday filing a counter-complaint against the Governor, accusing him of interfering in the State’s electoral process and inciting disharmony among the citizens.
Banerjee’s step comes a day after Bose got an FIR registered against the TMC MP at the Hare Street Police Station in Kolkata under a catena of sections i.e. 151, 152, 197, 353, and 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for alleging in public that the Governor was in the practice of harbouring criminals in his official residence at Raj Bhavan, from where he supplied guns and bombs to BJP criminals.
Referring to Bose’s statement that Bengal required “ballot and not bullet culture”, Banerjee said that this was intentionally done to influence the electorate. “Irrespective of the immunity he enjoys, I, as a citizen, do have all the rights to get certain things investigated for the sake of the safety and security of the people of my country and my State, which is why I have demanded an investigation,” Banerjee said.
The TMC MP urged the police to treat his complaint under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS), sources said. Advocate Arka Nag said on behalf of Banerjee that despite being in a constitutional post, the Governor had no business bringing false and fabricated charges — of corruption and politicisation — against the Bengal Police, which amounted to undermining public trust and peace.