Kolkata, March 8 Former West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said on Sunday that his resignation was a "conscious decision" and asserted that the reasons for his departure will remain confidential until the right time.
Comparing his three-and-a-half-year tenure in office to a game of cricket, Bose, in a tangential reference to the cause of his exit, said that the rules of the game include knowing when it is supposed to end.
Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport after his return from Delhi, Bose said that he had tendered his resignation from the city before leaving for the national capital.
"I spent over 1200 days in office. That's equivalent to scoring 12 centuries on the cricket field. The rules of the game include knowing when it ends," the former governor said.
"I made a conscious decision to submit my resignation, the reasons for which will remain confidential until the right time arrives. I was given enough opportunity to decide for myself what the right time to quit should be. I knew the day I assumed office that time would come when I would have to vacate it," Bose added, refuting suggestions that his exit was sudden and abrupt.
Speaking about the governor reshuffle, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had alleged on Saturday that Bose was forced to quit in the face of threats from the BJP top brass.
"I know what led to the sudden exit of the governor. He was threatened. Not everyone will allow the Raj Bhavan to be converted into BJPs' party office. They used the space for money distribution, throwing all Constitutional propriety to the winds," the TMC supremo had said.
Asked for a response, Bose said it would be "inappropriate" for a departing governor to speak on the matter under "current circumstances".
On the angst expressed by President Droupadi Murmu on alleged protocol violations during her visit to West Bengal a day ago and tribal "deprivation" in the state, Bose avoided a direct response.
"The President is very experienced, balanced and an extremely dignified person. She must have had her reasons for saying what she said. But I am no one to comment on what the President said," he added.
Bose said he would vacate the Lok Bhavan premises, latest by Monday.
"It's only natural that when someone new enters office, its previous occupant should exit," he said.
Calling himself a "proud voter of Bengal", Bose said he would return to Bengal to cast his vote during the state elections.
Bose, a native of Kerala, had shifted his voting base to Bengal barely a week before tendering resignation from his office.
