Kolkata: Apparently seeking to leave the bitterness in their ties behind, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose extended an olive branch to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and invited her to Raj Bhavan on the occasion of his completion of two years in office.
In return, Banerjee also sent Bose sweets and fruits, a well-placed official at the Raj Bhavan said on Saturday.
The Bengal Governor wrote to the chief minister on Friday inviting her along with her Cabinet colleagues and TMC MLAs to the Raj Bhavan, he said, adding that Banerjee as a return gift also sent sweets to the Governor on Saturday.
"The CM also telephoned the Governor today and congratulated him on the completion of his two years in office. They both exchanged greetings during the conversion,” the official said.
According to the official, Bose in his letter to Banerjee, also shared his experience as the Constitutional head of Bengal.
In the letter, he also mentioned that in the first year in the chair, he had a "friendly relationship" with the state government, but in the second year, it deteriorated because of some differences in opinion.
"But in the third year, he is trying to move forward together with the state government on the path of development," the official said.
He, however, said that there was no communication from the CMO regarding the invitation to the Raj Bhavan.
The governor also unveiled a bust of himself at Raj Bhavan on the occasion.
Two years back, on November 23, Bose took over as the Bengal Governor from his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar who is now the Vice-President.
Since then, Bose has had several run-ins with the West Bengal government over a number of issues including the appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities, alleged snooping of Kolkata Police personnel in his office, and “personal attacks”.
