Mamata’s Day Out in Delhi: Big Political Meetings, NRC & More

Banerjee expressed shock over the missing names of former President Fakhruddin Ali’s family members on the NRC list.

West Bengal chief minister met Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, 1 August. 

(Photo: ANI)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, 1 August, met Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to discuss the current political scenario in the country and the possibility of the Congress and the TMC contesting future elections together.

Banerjee told reporters that she also discussed the NRC Assam issue in the meeting, attended by Congress President Rahul Gandhi as well. The West Bengal chief minister, who is on a three-day visit to the national capital, once again launched into a tirade against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying it was tense because it won't come back to power in 2019.

She said that the government could even brand her an “infiltrator” as her parents did not have papers to prove that they were born in India.

Earlier in the day, she had met senior BJP leader LK Advani inside the Parliament premises.

West Bengal CM mamata Banerjee visiting BJP leader LK Advani.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien said that apart from Opposition leaders, Banerjee also met former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and disgruntled BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha. She met Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and SP MP Jaya Bachchan as well.

I have urged Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha as well to send a team to Assam to check the reality of NRC.

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM

Arun Shourie, a bitter critic of the Modi government, would meet Banerjee later in Kolkata as he would not be present in Delhi during TMC chief’s visit, O’Brien said.

Banerjee Attacks BJP, PM Modi Over NRC

The West Bengal chief minister had, while addressing a gathering in the national capital on Tuesday, also launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led government in the Centre and Assam, alleging that the party was targeting people ahead of the general elections in 2019.

"Only to win polls people can't be victimised. Don't you think people whose name isn't in the list will lose a part of their identity? Please understand India-Pakistan-Bangladesh were one before partition. Whoever came from Bangladesh to India till March 1971 is Indian citizen," she was quoted as saying by ANI.

She expressed shock over the missing names of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's family members on the NRC list. "What else can I say? There are so many people whose names are not there," she was quoted as saying by ANI.

Banerjee had previously criticised the NRC and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he was doing “vote politics.”

She also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the NRC, the second draft of which left out close to 40 lakh people. Banerjee communicated her apprehensions, saying there will be a “civil war” if the NRC is implemented in her state.

"I asked him to amend NRC Bill or bring new a Bill. He has assured me they will not harass people. I also spoke to him about reports of NRC being implemented in Bengal. I told him that if such a thing happens, there could be a civil war," she was quoted as saying by ANI.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)