Mamata to skip UPA dinner at PM's house

After throwing a spanner into finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's possible candidature as president, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is set to skip the UPA's anniversary dinner at Prime Minister's residence on Tuesday.

After throwing a spanner into finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's possible candidature as president, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is set to skip the UPA’s anniversary dinner at Prime Minister’s residence on Tuesday.

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While she skipped the UPA dinner invites on earlier occasions too, this time her move assumes significance as the presidential poll is round the corner and Banerjee is yet to get the moratorium on the state's interest repayment.

Banerjee told a TV channel on Monday that she would “be happy” if the Congress chose Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, former Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi or even former president APJ Abdul Kalam for the top post. When asked if she would back Mukherjee, a son of the soil (of Bengal) as President, Banerjee said, “Is he a son of the soil? He may be the son of world.”