CM will attend a conference on April 30, which is to be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi. (File) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit New Delhi on April 29 to participate in a conference titled ‘Chief Ministers-Chief Justices’ conference on Judiciary’, which is to be held on April 30. During her last visit to the national capital in November last year, the chief minister had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There is
speculation in the state’s political circles that she might seek a fresh appointment with the PM this time as well.
The prime minister is scheduled to inaugurate the conference on April 30 and also address the inaugural session. Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior member of the state Cabinet said the CM might again raise the GST and MGNREGA funds, which she claims, are yet to be released by the Central government.
“The chief minister will try to seek an appointment with the prime minister during her Delhi visit. She is likely to demand release of the GST and MGNREGA funds from the Central government. She had raised the same demand during her last meeting with the PM in Delhi. The dues are in excess of Rs 92,000 crores,” the minister said.
During her last visit to the national capital in November, the chief minister had urged the PM to inaugurate the Bengal Global Business Summit – 2022. However, the PM could not make it to the event and it was thrown open by West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar instead.
The CM’s latest visit to Delhi assumes further significance as it comes at a time when a number of rulings by the Calcutta High Court have gone against her government. The HC had assigned a raft of cases — the Bogtui killings in Birbhum district, murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu in Purulia district and the alleged gangrape of a minor girl in Nadia — to the CBI. The state has challenged the HC single bench order, assigning the Tapan Kandu murder case to the CBI, at the division bench. Taking up several cases of alleged irregularities in recruitment of Group-D staff through the School Service Commission (SSC), a single bench had ordered a CBI inquiry. However, the division bench later stayed the single-bench order.
There are speculations that the CM might harp on the recent court rulings at the conference. Addressing a press conference a month ago, Banerjee had said, “Democratic space is shrinking in India and it has also impacted the judicial system in the country. This is not desirable.”
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
