West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose compared Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, APJ Abdul Kalam, and former UK PM Winston Churchill. “These are all statesmen and politicians who were writers,” he remarked, echoing Mamata Banerjee. The Governor was speaking at the convocation of St Xavier’s University on Monday in Kolkata.
CV Ananda Bose’s strong praise for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the event has caused concern among the state BJP leaders, who are already irritated by their friendly relationship.
The governor’s comments drew an angry reaction from the Bengal BJP leaders. Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the Bengal Assembly said on Twitter, “I partly agree with the Governor’s assessment that Mamata Banerjee is like Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister responsible for the 1943 Bengal famine; arguably the worst genocide in human history resulting in over 4 million deaths from starvation and malnutrition.”
“His speech on the occasion sounded as if he was rehearsing for the customary speech which he’ll read out at the beginning of the upcoming Budget Session of WB Legislative Assembly,” Adhikari said.
At the convocation, Mamata Banerjee was awarded an honorary DLitt.
The Governor and the Chief Minister have a friendly connection, which is a stark contrast to the past when Raj Bhavan’s relationship with Mamata Banerjee had entirely broken down.
However, Bose has taken a more traditional approach and has stayed out of politics so far.
