RN Ravi Replaces CV Ananda Bose Ahead Of West Bengal Assembly Elections. Who Is He?
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has replaced CV Ananda Bose as the Governor of West Bengal after the latter’s abrupt resignation ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
Ravi, who has had frequent confrontations with the MK Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu, has replaced Bose as the new Governor of West Bengal, confirmed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri R.N. Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard,” said Mamata Banerjee on X.
“Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure. 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.
Who Is RN Ravi?
Ravindra Narayan Ravi, who is currently serving as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, is a retired Kerala-cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the 1976 batch after completing his post graduation in physics. He also served in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
He was appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2014. Ravi also served as the deputy National Security Advisor in 2018. After his retirement, Ravi was appointed as the Governor of Nagaland, and also held the additional responsibility of Governor of Meghalaya.
Ravi’s tenure as Tamil Nadu Governor has seen repeated face-offs with the DMK government. Last month, Ravi skipped the customary address to the Tamil Nadu assembly in anger after he reiterated that the national anthem should be played along with the state anthem at the start of the assembly session.
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has frequently described Ravi as dictatorial, due to his delay in granting assent to various bills passed by the state assembly. In 2024, Ravi refused to re-induct K Ponmudy into the Cabinet despite the Supreme Court staying his conviction.
In 2023, Ravi briefly “dismissed” arrested Minister V. Senthil Balaji without the Chief Minister’s advice, a decision he was forced to backtrack on later that same day.
