Keeping the Congress guessing, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday decided to skip the swearing-in ceremonies of chief ministers in Punjab and Lucknow, citing business in West Bengal. She would, however, send two Trinamool leaders to represent her.
"I just spoke to Mamatadi. She was keen to make the trip to Chandigarh and Lucknow but now she will be in West Bengal on the opening day of the assembly for the Governor's address," Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien told PTI.
She has asked West Bengal tourism minister Rachpal Singh to represent her in Punjab and union minister of state for tourism Sultan Ahmed in UP. Mamata had on Saturday stated that she'd try to attend the oath-taking ceremonies of Parkash Singh Badal as Punjab chief minister on March 14 and Akhilesh Yadav as the new UP CM the next day. Trinamool Congress has made common cause with non-Congress chief ministers on some issues, and Mamata was specially invited to the swearing-in ceremonies of Badal and Akhilesh.
Making known its disapproval of her attending the functions, Congress reminded her that she should not cross the 'Laxman Rekha' of coalition dharma. "Social interactions with strangers by those in partnerships is permissible, but obviously if things go beyond the normal boundaries of social courtesy, it would become immoral," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters in Delhi. O'Brien declined to comment on Singhvi's caution.
{{/usCountry}}Making known its disapproval of her attending the functions, Congress reminded her that she should not cross the 'Laxman Rekha' of coalition dharma. "Social interactions with strangers by those in partnerships is permissible, but obviously if things go beyond the normal boundaries of social courtesy, it would become immoral," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters in Delhi. O'Brien declined to comment on Singhvi's caution.
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