West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of being involved in 'vendetta politics' and she also sought permission to protest at Rajghat on Gandhi Jayanti.
Mamata Banerjee addressed a press conference in Kolkata on Monday when she denounced the summons sent by the Centre’s Enforcement Directorate to her nephew and Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee accused in the school jobs scam as well as in another case related to cow smuggling, and termed it as a bid to “browbeat a youth leader”.
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu's arrest in a corruption case seemed “vindictive”, she said.
Mamata Banerjee on protests at Rajghat
Mamata Banerjee asserted on Monday that her party workers would pray at Rajghat if permission to protest there on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary was denied. “Delhi police is not our enemy, but they will not be able to give us permission to protest at Rajghat as that will be a political call... However, we can still go there to pray, that is always permissible,” Banerjee told a press conference Kolkata.
The TMC had sought permission to protest against the non-release of NREGA dues to Bengal, in large numbers at three venues in Delhi including the Rajghat where Gandhi’s ashes are kept.
Mamata Banerjee on foreign trip
The Trinamool Congress supremo on Tuesday is embarking on a visit to Dubai and Spain to seek investments. “I am going abroad after 5 years; no permission was given for foreign travels earlier, though I had several invitations,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee has been engaged in a war of words with the state’s Governor C V Ananda Bose over various issues, however, made light of missives sent by him to the state government and her, stating that he had simply sent her “best wishes for the upcoming foreign trip.”
Mamata Banerjee on India-Bharat name row
Banerjee addressed the country name change controversy and said, "Our Constitution begins with 'We the People of India' in the Preamble. People have been using every name. It seems they (BJP) did it due to the INDIA alliance", calling the name change 'unconstitutional'.
She further claimed that the renaming of the country might have aggravated due to the naming of the Opposition bloc INDIA which Banerjee and her party TMC are a part of.
Mamata Banerjee reshuffles cabinet
In a ministerial reshuffle on Monday, the West Bengal Chief Minister shifted Babul Supriyo from the tourism department and gave him the charges of Information Technology and renewable energy, reportedly.
Another singer-politician Indranil Sen, who was the minister of state for the technical education, training, and skill development department was given the Independent charge of the tourism department.
Forest Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick was given additional charges of the Department of Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction.
