Mamata Banerjee said her meeting with PM Narendra Modi was "good"
Highlights
- PM said he would do something about the state's name change: Ms Banerjee
- She said she has also invited PM to Bengal for a meet after Durga Puja
- This was her first meeting with PM Modi since the national elections
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she has flagged the issue of changing the state's name at her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and received a positive response. "The Prime Minister said he would do something about it," she told journalists at the end of the meeting. She has also invited PM Modi to Bengal after the Durga Puja for the inauguration of what she said was the "world's second largest coal project".
"It was a good meeting... we mostly discussed developmental issues," said Ms Banerjee, who reached Delhi yesterday for what was her first meeting with the Prime Minister since the national elections, in which the BJP has made huge inroads into Bengal, winning 18 of the state's 42 seats.
"We spoke of the economic progress in Bengal. Bengal's GDP is 12.8 per cent -- number 1 in India," said the Chief Minister, who earlier said it was "routine" meeting and that she would be seeking central funds that are due.
"We want to change the name of our state to Bangla and spoke to PM about it. We are open to other suggestions too," Ms Banerjee said about the issue that has been pending for long. During the budget session, a party delegation led by Sudip Bandopadhyay had met PM Modi raising this demand, but the centre has not given its assent.
Ms Banerjee, an arch-critic of the Prime Minister, has been at loggerheads with the Centre over multiple issues, including the CBI investigation into the various ponzi schemes in the state.
The Chief Minister pointed out that it was the "constitutional obligation" of the state and the central government to work together, setting aside political rivalries.
The BJP has alleged that Ms Banerjee was meeting the Prime Minister as a "last-ditch bid to save city's ex-police chief Rajeev Kumar", who is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Saradha case.
"Why is she seeking a meeting with PM Modi all of a sudden is anybody's guess," Mr Vijayvargiya told reporters in Kolkata. "(Mamata) Banerjee is making a desperate attempt to save Rajeev Kumar as she is very well aware that his arrest would ensure that half of her cabinet will land behind bars. But her attempts to save Rajeev Kumar and party leaders from the scam won't yield any result," he added.