India’s political scene saw a sudden shift on March 5 (Thursday) after West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose stepped down and submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi. The resignation came just weeks before the West Bengal Assembly elections and quickly triggered political reactions across the country.

President Murmu has accepted Bose’s resignation. Soon after, the Union government decided that RN Ravi, currently the Governor of Tamil Nadu, would take charge as the new Governor of West Bengal.

CV Ananda Bose resigns as West Bengal Governor

Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the decision. At the same time, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was told that Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla would hold additional charge of Tamil Nadu.

Banerjee reacted sharply to the development. She said she was “shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation” of Bose. In a message posted on X (formerly Twitter), she wrote that she “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”.

She also said such steps weaken federal principles. “Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri RN Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard,” Banerjee said.

“The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of States", she added.

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Who is RN Ravi?

RN Ravi is a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who served as Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He became the 15th Governor of Tamil Nadu after being appointed by President Ram Nath Kovind on September 9, 2021.

When he took office, Ravi spoke about maintaining constitutional balance with the elected government. “A governor is to function within the parameters of the constitution. And I will try my best to keep that in mind,” he said. He also said that he hoped to build a good relationship with the state government. “The slate of our (his and the state government) relationship is absolutely new and clean. My effort will be to make it as beautiful as possible in the days to come.”

However, his tenure in Tamil Nadu soon became controversial. He repeatedly clashed with the DMK government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin.

One major issue was his handling of bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Between September 2021 and May 2022, Ravi kept 21 bills pending without giving assent. This included the anti-NEET bill, which the state government introduced after at least 22 students died by suicide. The bill aimed to replace the national medical entrance test with admissions based on Class 12 marks. Although the Assembly passed the bill twice, Ravi did not approve it and instead sent it to the President.

In April 2023, he explained his position during an interaction with civil service aspirants. “Withholding a bill did not mean that the governor was simply holding it, but rather that the bill was dead,” he said.

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Tensions also rose during his address to the Tamil Nadu Assembly on January 9, 2023. Ravi skipped several parts of the speech prepared by the state government, including references to social justice, equality, women’s rights and leaders like Periyar and BR Ambedkar. Chief Minister Stalin responded by moving a resolution to record only the original speech prepared by the government. Ravi walked out of the Assembly even before the national anthem was played.

NEP and language row

Another disagreement involved the National Education Policy (NEP). Ravi supported the policy and encouraged students to learn more Indian languages. But the DMK government opposed the three-language formula, saying it could lead to the imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu.

Ravi said the policy should not be seen politically. “The new education policy should not be seen as political,” he said. “Our culture, tradition, and history have been hidden by many governments. That hidden history can be reclaimed by the new National Education Policy.”

He also sparked controversy in January 2023 when he suggested that “Thamizhagam” might be a more appropriate name for the state than Tamil Nadu.

Ravi also criticised the “Dravidian model” promoted by the DMK government. “…there is no such model of governance. It is only a political slogan, a desperate bid to sustain an expired ideology,” he said.

Another row broke out when a line containing the word “Dravida” was omitted during the performance of the Tamil Thai Vazhthu anthem at a public event. Since Ravi attended the programme, political parties blamed him.

Raj Bhavan later clarified that the omission was accidental. “The troupe who recites the Thamizthaai Vaazhthu has inadvertently missed a line which consists of the word ‘Dravida’. The matter was immediately brought to the notice of the organisers,” the statement said.

Earlier, Ravi had also faced criticism during his tenure as Governor of Nagaland.

Now, with his appointment as the Governor of West Bengal, Ravi is entering another political chapter, ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. His past confrontations with state governments mean that his tenure in Kolkata will likely be closely watched.