Written by Sweety KumariKolkatta | November 16, 2025 12:54 PM IST 3 min readThe TMC on Tuesday accepted Kalyan Banerjee's resignation as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha. (File Photo)A political storm is brewing in West Bengal following remarks made by Governor C V Ananda Bose on elections in the state and a fiery counterattack by Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee.Reacting to the governor’s support for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Banerjee, known for making controversial statements, Banerjee on Saturday accused the governor of actively aiding criminals. “First, tell the governor not to shelter the BJP’s criminals in Raj Bhavan. He is keeping offenders there, giving them guns and bombs, and telling them to attack Trinamool workers. Let him stop this first,” the MP alleged.He called Bose an “incompetent governor” and a “BJP-servant governor,” claiming that “nothing good will happen in West Bengal” as long as he remained in office.The Raj Bhavan issued a rebuttal late on Saturday. The official statement said the gates of the Raj Bhavan would be opened from 5 am on Sunday for Banerjee, along with “up to 100 members of civil society and the media”, to visit and “verify if any arms and ammunition are stocked as alleged”. The statement further warned that if the allegations were found to be incorrect, the MP would have the option to apologise to the people of Bengal or face prosecution for hate speech.Expressing serious security concerns, the governor’s office also called for an immediate inquiry into the Kolkata police personnel who guard the premises regarding how, “as alleged by the MP”, they “permitted” arms and ammunition to be brought into the Raj Bhavan. The governor has Z-plus category security.“Despite security advice to evacuate to a safe place until the inquiry was complete, the Governor maintained, ‘I will be in Raj Bhavan, come what may’,” read the Raj Bhavan statement.The Raj Bhavan will request the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to conduct an inquiry into the matter, the statement added.This heated exchange is fuelling political turbulence in the state as the governor is scheduled to visit Siliguri on Sunday to grace the closing ceremony of Rozgar Mela 2.0, organised by the Darjeeling Welfare Society.‘Address violence and corruption first’Story continues below this adOn Saturday, a day after the NDA won the Bihar Assembly polls, the governor stressed the urgent need for a transition in West Bengal’s electoral landscape. “In West Bengal, elections should be based on the ballot, not the bullet. That is a transition which is required urgently in the state,” he told reporters at the Raj Bhavan.The governor identified two major problems confronting the state that need to be addressed effectively before any election. “One is violence and another is corruption,” he said, adding that “any type of violence…should be curbed with an iron hand” and that removing corruption was necessary to ensure a “free and fair election”.The governor also defended the ongoing SIR, stating it was necessary to clean up the election process. “Bihar has proved it,” Bose said, expressing confidence that the people of Bengal would accept it too.Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:West Bengal