Modi may have won his first election, but he was still a political pariah in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Mamata Banerjee was among a handful of leaders who congratulated the Gujarat Chief Minister, even sending him a bouquet of flowers. She was still trying to emerge as the principal opposition in Bengal at the time.
In September 2002, Mamata attended a book launch organised by the RSS. At the event, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief shared the stage with the likes of Mohan Bhagwat, HV Sheshadri, and Madandas Debi. Introduced on stage as “Bengal’s Durga”, she implored the RSS to help her fight red terror in Bengal.
Later that year, Mamata was rewarded with a Cabinet position in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. She was assigned the Coal and Mining Ministry, despite having dumped the NDA in the aftermath of Operation West End in 2001.
2014. The break-up. In the run-up to the general election, Mamata refused to back ‘Modi for PM’. Bengal’s 25 percent Muslim population, crucial to Mamata’s assembly election victory, prompted her to not just distance herself from Modi but launch a relentless tirade against him.
Not one to take a slur lying down, Modi responded,
Modi maintained his cool even when Mamata insulted him on the issue of illegal migrants.
Modi’s deference was understandably aimed at soliciting support from the TMC in Parliament.
In his very first speech inside the Central Hall after becoming Prime Minister, Modi applauded the TMC chief. He said, “My sister Mamata Banerjee is working really hard to undo the damage done in the past 35 years in West Bengal.”
As the Chief Minister of a severely cash-strapped state, Mamata Banerjee was quick to adapt to the change of guard at the Centre. Even as the Modi government tried to get her on board for negotiations with Bangladesh, Mamata made her expectations in return for her cooperation on the Teesta Water Sharing and Land Boundary Agreement, very clear.
By June 2015, Modi had scored diplomatic points by convincing Mamata to visit Dhaka. This was a significant step towards resolving the Teesta Water Sharing and Land Boundary dispute, considering the 2011 debacle when Mamata embarrassed the UPA government by refusing to accompany the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka.
Shortly after, Mamata met Modi in Delhi seeking a loan waiver for West Bengal. The Prime Minister is reported to have abruptly left the meeting without giving concrete assurances. Not surprisingly, the Bengal Chief Minster was more confrontational in her demand this time around.
In his first election rally in West Midnapore, PM Modi abandoned statesmanship and easily slipped into campaign mode while talking about the Bengal Chief Minister.
Mamata Banerjee is yet to respond to Modi’s charge. The ongoing investigation into the Saradha chit fund scam and the Narada News sting operation could have something to do with her uncharacteristic reticence.
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