West Bengal minister Sovan Chatterjee resigned on Tuesday after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rebuked him for allegedly ignoring official responsibilities to focus on personal matters. Chatterjee, the fire services, housing and emergency minister, will also resign as mayor of Kolkata, the Hindustan Times reported.
“His resignation has been accepted,” Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata. “He had put in his papers in the past too, but I hadn’t accepted. He has been asked to resign from the mayor’s post as well. A new mayor will be appointed in due time.”
Municipal Commissioner Khalil Ahmed will head the Kolkata Municipal Corporation till a new mayor is elected, The Indian Express reported.
Chatterjee, once a close aide of Banerjee, filed for a divorce from his wife Ratna in December 2017. “I don’t know how a man who was a dedicated worker of the Trinamool Congress, one of Mamata Banerjee’s favourite party workers has become like this,” his estranged wife told the media after Chatterjee resigned, NDTV reported. “Didi told him, fine, you don’t want to go back to your wife, that’s your business, but you must concentrate on your work. But he didn’t listen.”
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