West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she will visit Delhi during the monsoon session of Parliament and meet several leaders in the national capital.
“I have not visited Delhi since the [West Bengal Assembly] elections. This was because of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the State. Now the situation has vastly improved. Usually, I visit when Parliament is in session and meet many old and new friends,” she said.
She did not confirm the date of her visit, but said if time permits, she will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.
The visit assumes significance as leaders of several Opposition parties are holding discussions on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The development also comes at a time when the recent meeting between poll strategist Prashant Kishor with Congress leadership has triggered a lot of speculation in the political circles. Mr. Kishor was engaged by the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 Assembly polls and the association between him and TMC has been extended till 2024. After the TMC defeated the BJP, the TMC chairperson has said her next goal is to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power in the 2024 polls.
NHRC reports leaked to malign Bengal
The Chief Minister also wondered why the NHRC report was leaked to the media. She said the pre-poll violence was being projected as post poll violence.
“When the court gives us time, we will file affidavit and give our opinion. Instead of giving report to the court, they have leaked it outside. They should at least respect the court. The hearing has just started. We from the government have to give our opinion.” She said the report was misleading. Leaking it amounts to political vendetta because the BJP has lost elections in the State.
In response to a similar question, she said she will not respond to a sub judice matter and said the identity of those who submitted the report should be looked into by the court. A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on June 18 had asked the NHRC to look into the allegations of post-poll violence and an NHRC committee submitted its report to it earlier this week.
The Chief Minister described the development as an attempt to malign the people of West Bengal and give the State a bad name.
Commenting on the law-and-order in Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Banerjee said the Prime Minister was well aware of the situation and asked how many teams the Centre had sent there.
“There is no rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. It is out of rule of law. So many incidents occurred there, from Unnao to Hathras... even journalists were not spared. As far as COVID-19 goes, they dumped bodies in the Ganga. We extricated eight bodies here,” she said. “U.P is their baby, that is why they are calling it safe.”
Situation conducive for bypolls
The Chief Minister said the Election Commission had sought the State government’s opinion on holding polls to two Rajya Sabha seats from the State.
“Our Chief Secretary has replied that the situation here is conducive to holding both the Rajya Sabha polls and also bypolls to seven Assembly seats,” she said . She said the bypolls are not being held in contiguous areas and the case positivity ratio is about 1.5 %. “For instance, there are certain wards in Bhabanipur where there is not a single case.”
Ms. Banerjee is likely to contest from Bhabanipur. She lost Nandigram by a narrow margin of 1,956 votes. During the day, a Trinamool delegation met ECI officials in Delhi on the bypolls.
