West Bengal Chief Minister’s Mamata Banerjee’s conspicuous absence at an Independence Day tea party has ‘startled and stunned’ the host, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who said that Banerjee had set a ‘bad precedent’ by not attending the event.
Tweeting a picture of a vacant chair from the tea party held on the evening of 15 August, Governor Dhankhar said that CM Banerjee’s absence had “created unwholesome situation that is not in sync with rich culture and ethos of WB.”
Why did Mamata Skip Ceremony?
According to a NDTV report, sources in the state government claimed that the ruling dispensation was unhappy with at the number of guests invited for the ceremony, which it felt was high at a time when social distancing norms are in place.
The report also said that usually, around 300 to 400 guests are invited for the tea party every Independence Day, but this time the list was narrowed down to 50, out of which around 35 attended the event.
Social distancing, it seems, was followed at the party, which lasted 45 minutes and was wrapped up by 6 pm.
What Did Mamata Say?
After hoisting the national flag at a ceremony in Kolkata, CM Banerjee, along with other senior officers of the government, had met Governor Dhankhar at about 10:40 am on 15 August. The meeting, which was unscheduled, was reportedly cordial and lasted about 90 minutes.
While leaving Raj Bhavan, without mentioning anything about the guest list, CM Banerjee had said that she would not be able to attend the tea party later in the evening.
(With inputs from NDTV)
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