West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose calls off Cooch Behar tour, says 'no one could restrict his movement'

Kolkata: Acting on the advice of the Election Commission of India (ECI), West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday called off his proposed tour to Cooch Behar, during which he intended to 'oversee' the polling process.

He, however, alleged that an attempt was being made to 'politicise the Governor's office', while asserting he would not allow anyone to use him as a 'pawn on the political chess board'.

"My priority is to be with the people of Bengal. My focus is to fight against violence in the state, particularly during election(s). My field visits are for these purposes but there is an attempt to politicise the Governor's office. I will not let anyone to lower the dignity of the office of the Governor," Bose said in a statement released by the Raj Bhavan.

"I will not allow anyone to use me as a pawn on the political chess board," he added.

Stating that according to the Constitution, no one could "restrict his movement", the West Bengal governor, however, said he was not in favour of getting involved in any political controversy.

"Under the Constitution, no one can restrict the movement of a Governor. However, I do not want to get involved in the unsavoury political controversy around me," he said, adding he was available to the people 24/7 at his 'peace room' over emails and phone calls.

"Because of unsavoury political implications, I am calling off my visit to north Bengal today," Bose said.

The poll body advised Bose to call off his proposed tour of Cooch Behar in the northern part of West Bengal on the eve of the first phase of voting as it was violative of the Model Code of Conduct, sources said on Wednesday.

Polling will be held in Cooch Behar on April 19 and the 48-hour silence period when campaigning is barred began on Wednesday evening.