New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, after a spell of 15 months, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday amid speculation about the agenda for the meeting.
Soon after the meeting, Mamata said changing the name of the state was one of the top agenda for her. "The meeting with Prime Minister was good. We discussed changing the name of West Bengal to 'Bangla'. He has promised to do something about the matter", said the Bengal CM.
The state has been trying to change the name of the state primarily to get central assistance early in the order. Due to its name, West Bengal's turn comes right at the end.
Sources say, certain stalled developmental projects of the state, particularly relating to railways and mining were also raised by the Bengal Chief Minister in her meeting with Modi. She carried a bouquet of yellow flowers for Modi. Earlier, she waved at media before leaving in a hatchback from her residence at South Avenue.
She has brought multiple packets of sandesh for Modi from a well-known Kolkata sweet shop, says a source close to Mamata. Interestingly, a few months back during the heat of 2019 general election campaigning, she had said, "I'll send Modi roshogollas made of mud, pebbles so that he loses his teeth".
This meeting comes at a very interesting time, just a day after Modi's 69th birthday that drew dig from her political opponents. Also the Central Bureau of investigation has formed a crack team of 14 people to find out former Kolkata top cop and close Mamata aide Rajeev Kumar in the Rs 2,500-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
Congress party Bengal unit President Somen Mitra has accused Banerjee of making a desperate bid to ensure an "escape route" for Kumar, who is currently untraceable.
"Why is she seeking a meeting with PM Modi all of a sudden is anybody's guess", Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP's Bengal in charge said, recalling Banerjee's sharp criticism of Modi during the 2019 general election campaign.
But with the tone and tenor of Mamata changed with changed political realities and circumstances, will it be a new era between Mamata and Modi?
--IANS
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