West Bengal Chief Minster Mamata Banerjee announced on Tuesday that state housing and fire and emergencies services minister Sovan Chatterjee stepped down from both the posts. Chatterjee has been asked to step down as Mayor of Kolkata as well, Banerjee informed. State urban development minister Firhad Hakim will now look after both portfolios. “Earlier he had wanted to step down from his posts on four occasions. However we thought that he will change his mind and therefore did not accept his resignation. Today, he again tendered his resignation which has been accepted. State minister Firhad Hakim will now look after these two departments. He (Chatterjee) has been asked to step down from his post as Kolkata Mayor as well,” Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat. Sources said Chatterjee is likely to tender his resignation as Kolkata Mayor tomorrow. Municipal Commissioner Khalil Ahmed will look after the activities of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) till a new mayor is elected. Sources said Banerjee was not happy with his performance as state minister and had on a number of occasions warned him to carry out his duties properly or face action. It was also learned that the chief minister was also not happy with his marital discord which came out in the open once he filed a divorce petition at a city court. Chatterjee’s wife Ratna Chatterjee held his alleged affair with a person named Baishakhi Banerjee as the reason for his downfall. “He was a dedicated worker until he met that woman. He willingly jumped into the fire and let everyone down. This is very unfortunate. We are still fighting our divorce petition in the court but I still love him. Some people just ruined his life,” she told reporters.

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