Shruti Suman
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhury raised doubts on Sunday regarding West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to participate in the dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu during the G20 summit in New Delhi. Choudhury questioned whether this move would weaken her position against the Narendra Modi government. The state Congress president also pondered whether there was an undisclosed reason for the Trinamool Congress leader’s involvement in the event.
In response, the Trinamool defended Banerjee, asserting that she played a crucial role in the non-BJP bloc INDIA and did not require lectures on administrative protocols from the Congress leader. They pointed out that while several non-BJP Chief Ministers chose not to attend the dinner, Mamata Banerjee arrived in Delhi a day early and shared the occasion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the same venue.
Choudhury questioned, “What prompted her to rush to Delhi to join this dinner party with these leaders?” Mamata Banerjee came to Delhi on Friday, while the dinner took place the following day.
Choudhury further inquired, “Is there a hidden agenda behind her attendance?” In response, Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen emphasized Mamata Banerjee’s role as one of the architects of INDIA and defended her commitment to the cause. Sen stated that Choudhury had no authority to dictate when the chief minister should attend a G20 dinner as part of protocol.
The BJP’s West Bengal spokesperson, Samik Bhattacharya, accused the Congress and CPIM of aligning with Mamata Banerjee’s party in Delhi against the saffron camp, betraying the people of the state who had suffered under Trinamool’s rule. He claimed that the BJP was the only party actively opposing the corruption of Trinamool leaders, with agencies like the ED and CBI conducting investigations against them. Bhattacharya argued that the BJP stood with the people of Bengal, unlike parties like Congress, and questioned Choudhury’s alignment with Trinamool.
Officials explained that Mamata Banerjee’s flight had originally been scheduled for Saturday but was rescheduled to Friday afternoon due to flight movement regulations in the national capital.
