It was my conscious decision to resign as Bengal Guv: CV Ananada Bose
Kolkata (PTI): Former West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Sunday said his resignation was a "conscious decision" and asserted that the reasons for his exit will remain confidential till the right time comes.
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 the rules of the game include the knowledge of when it is supposed to end.
Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport following 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 took a conscious decision to put in my papers, the reasons of which will remain confidential till 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 the office that time would come when I would have to vacate it," Bose added, rebutting 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.
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Rupee crashes 46 paise to 92.28 against US dollar in early trade, nears all-time low
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee plummeted 46 paise to near its all-time intra-day low of 92.28 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as global crude oil prices shot up and the greenback strengthened amid the worsening situation in the Middle East.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by a staggering 25.68 per cent at USD 116.5 per barrel in futures trade as the war between US-Israel and Iran intensified.
A big surge in FII outflows and a crash at the domestic equity market in morning trade put further pressure in the local unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 92.22 against the US dollar before declining further to 92.28, down 46 paise from its previous close. The rupee had hit an all-time intra-day low of 92.35 on March 4.
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The rupee depreciated 18 paise against the US dollar on Friday to close at 91.82 against the American currency.
"The rupee will remain vulnerable to the rising oil prices which have risen by more than 28 per cent since the last closure on Friday. Asian currencies were also lower on Monday," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
Rupee might touch 93.00 if oil remains above USD 100 in the coming trading sessions, he added.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.66 per cent higher at 99.64.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex crashed 2,345.89 points to 76,573.01 in early trade, while Nifty tumbled 708.75 points to 23,741.70.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 6,030.38 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped USD 4.885 billion to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion during the week ended February 27, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
