On Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, revealed that when Rahul Gandhi contacted her two days prior, she informed him that she had not received an invitation to the INDIA bloc meeting at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, which was subsequently cancelled.
Emphasising her commitment to future opposition bloc meetings, she stressed the importance of informing alliance partners at least seven to ten days in advance.
Mamata explained that she had communicated her unavailability for the recent meeting due to prior commitments, echoing the challenges faced by other chief ministers when not provided adequate notice.
Speaking at the Kolkata airport before embarking on her six-day tour of north Bengal, Mamata recounted her conversation with Rahul Gandhi and highlighted the necessity of timely communication for effective participation.
In response to the statement by Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh in Parliament, suggesting that the Chief Minister of Bengal should personally meet Narendra Modi to address the issue of pending dues from the Centre, Mamata Banerjee announced her intention to have a meeting with the Prime Minister soon.
She stated, “I have previously met the Prime Minister three times to protest against Bengal’s deprivation by the Centre. I have also written letters to him. We have organized our ‘Delhi Chalo’ program and have sought permission from the Delhi police for a sit-in demonstration event. We are awaiting permission. Once in Delhi, we plan to request time from the Prime Minister for the meeting.”
Following the Congress’s electoral setbacks in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, Mamata was the first to criticize the party, attributing the defeat to the party itself rather than the people. She also held the Congress responsible for not collaborating on seat-sharing with partners of the INDIA bloc, formed to counter the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls next year.
