New Delhi/Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last week. Mamata also invited PM Modi to the state after Durga Puja. She described the meeting as “not political but one between government to government” and called the discussion “fruitful.” But, the meeting has raised eyebrows as both the leaders are political rivals and often slam each other on various issues.
In an effort to send a signal that she was extending an olive branch to the PM, Mamata invited Modi to inaugurate the Deocha Pachami coal block in Birbhum. “I invited the PM to Bengal for the inauguration of the world’s second-largest coal block, Birbhum’s Deocha Pachami block. I requested him to come after the Durga Puja and Navaratri celebrations, taking time-off his busy schedule,” Mamata said after exiting from the one-on-one with the PM. The Prime Minister's Office tweeted pictures of the two leaders at the official residence of Modi. Banerjee is seen presenting a bouquet to the prime minister.
She emphasised two issues - the change of name of the state (from ‘West Bengal’ to ‘Bangla’) and the £1.35 billion that the centre owed to the state - during her talks with the PM. “I told the PM that the Centre could send its opinion on or suggest modifications to the proposed name. Our state has sent the name-change proposal thrice to the Centre. This is urgent because it involves people’s sentiments,” the CM said. “We submitted a lot of documents to back up our requests. Bengal’s GDP is among the highest in the country. We showed the PM how Bengal was progressing despite a huge debt burden,” she said.
Responding to questions from the media, she said some political issues came up during the talks but the National Register of Citizens was not among them. “The NRC issue did not come up. There is no chance of NRC being implemented in Bengal. The Supreme Court ordered NRC in Assam because it was part of the Assam Accord. I took up certain issues regarding public undertakings in sectors like banking, coal, railways and the proposed divestment of Air India,” Mamata said.
Didi meets Shah too
After meeting PM Modi, Mamata met home minister Amit Shah and told him that many genuine Indians were excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. “I met the home minister and discussed the NRC in Assam and told him that many genuine Indians were excluded from the list. I have requested him to see to it that they are included in the NRC as they are in distress,” Banerjee told reporters after meeting Shah. The CM said the NRC had excluded many Bengalis, Biharis, Gorkhas and even Assamese people. “I have given him (Shah) a letter with our concerns and requested him to examine their cases,” she added. The final NRC, published on August 31, excluded the names of 19,00,000 people. “The home minister has assured me that he will look into it,” Mamata said.
