Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Saturday said he would not interfere with the process of the Lok Sabha elections but would listen to the people of Bengal during the duration of the polls.
His statement came a day after the Trinamul Congress had complained to the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing him of meddling in the panel's powers and jurisdiction.
Trinamul's complaint was based on the grievance redressal portal — Log Sabha — that Bose had launched. The people of the state will be able to communicate with the governor through the portal in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls which begin on April 19.
Bose, while replying to reporters about Trinamul's charge against him and the portal, dismissed any probability of interfering with the process of the elections or the jurisdiction of the ECI through his initiative.
Raj Bhavan on March 17 informed the people that the governor had launched the Log Sabha portal to act upon grievances and suggestions received through the platform.
"Log Sabha is not Lok Sabha.... there will be no interference by the governor in the election process. During panchayat elections, the governor was on the streets. The feedback received was that the governor's presence on the field could make a difference," said Bose.
"Now also, the governor will be available to the people. If there are any grievances related to the election process, they will be forwarded to the Election Commission of India for appropriate action. The governor has the right and the duty to be available to the people of Bengal," he added.
Trinamul had on Friday urged the ECI to restrain Bose from running a "parallel" grievance redressal platform.
A source said the ECI hadn't, however, taken any step so far on Trinamul's complaint.
"The complaint has been lodged directly with the ECI. So far, the commission has not asked for any clarification (in connection with Trinamul's complaint against the governor's activity). We have investigated the matter. If the commission asks for any report, we will send it to them for a final call," said a senior official in the office of the chief electoral officer in Calcutta.
