KOLKATA: Former West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan, who resigned after the CBI questioned him as a witness to the AgustaWestland chopper deal, left the Raj Bhavan here on Friday.
Narayanan was given a guard of honour by the police and senior state bureaucrats bid him farewell. Later, he and his wife left for Chennai.
After the change in Government at the Centre the Governor was asked to resign but West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked him to stay put.
On June 27, a CBI team came from New Delhi and questioned Naryanan as a witness to the AgustaWestland helicopter deal in which bribes had been allegedly paid.
Narayanan was the National Security Adviser to the UPA Government when the deal was struck in 2005. He, along with the then Chief of the Special Protection Group (SPG) and present Governor of Goa B V Wanchoo, had participated in meetings and advised the government about the helicopters.
The deal was cancelled last year after allegations surfaced that Rs 360 crore was paid as bribes and the CBI started a case against former IAF chief S P Tyagi, his relatives and several European middlemen.
On Monday,three days after the CBI quizzed him, Narayanan had sent his resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee. It was accepted on Thursday.
Bihar Governor D Y Patil would be the state’s acting Governor till a new Governor is appointed by the President.