West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to give a miss to a programme during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of key infrastructure projects in the poll-bound state’s Haldia district on Sunday, PTI reported citing an official from the state secretariat. The Trinamool Congress chief has also asked her party’s workers to skip the programme, PTI also reported.
In a programme scheduled for the evening, PM Modi will inaugurate four key projects from oil, gas, and infrastructure sectors in Haldia.
The exact reason for the possible absence was not shared. The "insult meted out to her" on January 23, when several people started raising Jai Shri Ram' slogans just before she was set to speak, could be the reason, the news agency also reported. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who has a tense relationship with the state chief minister is scheduled to attend the event, it also reported.
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Over the last few days, political tension has been rising in West Bengal where assembly elections are due in April-May. The tussle between the BJP and Banerjee’s TMC has also intensified as the former is hoping to wrest power from the ruling party after emerging as a second-biggest party during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
{{/usCountry}}Over the last few days, political tension has been rising in West Bengal where assembly elections are due in April-May. The tussle between the BJP and Banerjee’s TMC has also intensified as the former is hoping to wrest power from the ruling party after emerging as a second-biggest party during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
{{/usCountry}}On January 23, Banerjee refused to speak at an official event after a section of the crowd sitting at the audience started shouting "Jai Shree Ram" slogans. Prime Minister Modi was also part of the event organised by the central government to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose. Expressing displeasure over the incident, Bannerjee said the "insult was unacceptable" and refused to continue with her speech as a protest.
She also called for dignity at government programmes, saying they are not organised by a single political party. "I think there should be some dignity when a government programme is being held. This is not the programme of one political party. This is a programme of all parties and the people," she had said at Victoria Memorial.
While the incident drew sharp condemnation from TMC leaders, the BJP’s leadership said there was nothing wrong with the slogans and accused Banerjee of indulging in appeasement politics. "None of the dignitaries said anything. Why did she lose her cool? It reflects her mindset of appeasement politics. (She) appeases a particular community before elections," said the BJP’s Bengal in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya.