Mamata Banerjee meets PM Modi, terms it ‘courtesy’ meeting

Kolkata, March 1: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Raj Bhavan here on Friday evening. At the end of the brief interaction, she described it as a 'protocol' session between the Prime Minister and a Chief Minister.

The Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal, reached the Raj Bhavan late on Friday afternoon after addressing a public rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district, where he launched a scathing attack against the state government and the ruling Trinamool Congress on issues such as Sandeshkhali and cases of financial corruption.

After her brief interaction with the Prime Minister, Banerjee told the waiting mediapersons outside the Raj Bhavan that it was nothing but a 'protocol' meeting.

“The dates for the Lok Sabha polls are yet to be announced. It is natural that if the Prime Minister visits any state, there will be a protocol meeting between him and the Chief Minister of the concerned state. So I came to the Raj Bhavan and updated the Prime Minister about the affairs of the state. The interaction was more like a courteous interaction, rather than a political exchange,” the Chief Minister said.

When asked if she had raised the issue of pending Central dues to the state government under various Centrally-sponsored schemes with the Prime Minister, Banerjee said, "Whatever I have to say, I will say from a political dais. This was a simple courtesy meeting as per the protocol,” she added.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a rally at Krishnanagar in Nadia district on Saturday.

He is scheduled to return to the state to address another rally at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district on March 6.