Former West Bengal Governor CV Bose, whose sudden resignation has raised eyebrows, has now said the reason is "confidential" but he will share it at an "appropriate" time.
Bose's resignation on Friday had been out of the blue. He had gone to the Kolkata airport to board an Air India Express flight to Bagdogra ahead of President Droupadi Murmu's scheduled two-day visit to Darjeeling.
But instead, he apparently took an unscheduled flight to New Delhi. Sources said one-line letter did not specify any reason to his move.
Read:Bengal Voter To Delhi Flight: Governor CV Ananda Bose's Whirlwind 7 Days
Bose said today that his resignation was sent before he left Kolkata for Delhi. "It was my conscious decision to resign... The reasons will remain confidential till the right time comes," he told reporters.
He also refused to speak on administrative issues but said he would get back to Kolkata for the vote - which he had recently ported to Bengal. "As an outgoing Governor I don't want to speak on the administration anymore," he said.
In her initial reaction to the resignation, Banerjee - whose differences with Bose regularly made headlines -- had alleged that he was acting under the BJP's orders.
"Given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections," Banerjee said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Her questions only grew sharper.
"Why did the Governor had to resign? Let's conduct an inquiry -- why Ananda Bose was removed. So far I know that day Ananda Bose was scheduled to visit the President in North Bengal. Why all of a sudden was he called in Delhi? What you want to put your 'yes man' in the post of Governor?" she later said.
Read: "Shocked, Concerned": Mamata Banerjee On Bengal Governor's Resignation
Bose's removal was part of a reshuffle that involved nine states and Union Territories - the list was announced late on Friday evening. He was replaced by RN Ravi, who was the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
The BJP has claimed that Bose quit because of health reasons.
