Kolkata:
Two days and two snubs for the Centre, courtesy key ally Trinamool Congress. A day after she took on the Centre and lodged her protest against Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's pet project on a new counter terror body - the National Counter Terrorism Centre or NCTC, Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee did not attend a function in her state that was inaugurated by Mr Chidambaram.
Ms Banerjee's name was initially there on the programme brochure of a National Security Guard (NSG) hub inauguration function in Kolkata, but it was subsequently deleted. Trinamool Congress leader and Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy attended the function in her place.
The Trinamool chief was invited for the function but her office had reportedly informed the NSG that she would not be able to attend the event. When this was conveyed is still not clear.
Ms Banerjee's party and the Congress work together in the UPA coalition. Her absence was hence seen by many as a big snub amid strained ties between the key allies.
Mr Chidambaram, perhaps in an attempt to assuage the chief minister, praised her initiatives in Naxal areas and also said the central government would work with them.
"The central government is very happy to work with the state governments." He also thanked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the facilities at the hub. "I convey my thanks to the government under distinguished colleague Mamata Banerjee," said Mr Chidambaram.
However, these conciliatory moves may not be working. Ms Banerjee has written another letter to the Prime Minister, this time complaining about the Farakka barrage, which is an old agreement with Bangladesh from 1996.
In her letter, Ms Banerjee says the Farakka barrage is badly damaged, which is why Bangladesh is getting more than 80 per cent of its due.
According to official sources, Bangladesh was to get 35,000 cusecs during the dry season as per the water agreement between the two countries but was getting 82,801 cusecs due to the drainage of water from the barrage. The excess outflow of water from Farakka barrage through two damaged sulice gates has reduced its water level by three metres and is posing a threat of erosion at Jangipur area of Murshidabad district.
In its reply to Ms Banerjee, the government said they are taking steps to fix the situation.
Incidentally, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai also met Ms Banerjee today to discuss the Teesta water sharing pact with Bangladesh, ahead of the Bangladesh Home Minister's visit. The pact had fallen through last year when Ms Banerjee raised objections. Meanwhile, in Delhi, Congress played down the controversy.
"If a Chief Minister writes to the Centre about an issue that she thinks directly concerns her state, we don't need to give it political colours. Why somebody chose not to attend a function, they're in the best position to answer that," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
Earlier this week, Ms Banerjee had written a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to "review and withdraw" the National Counter Terrorism Centre or NCTC, formally sanctioned by the government in an executive order earlier this month. The NCTC is the Home Minister's brainchild. He has treated the new hub as a priority since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
By writing to the PM, Ms Banerjee joined her counterparts from Odisha, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in alleging that the Centre's blueprint of the NCTC violates the principles of federalism by encroaching upon state government turf. The Big Five insist that all state governments should have been consulted over the matter.
The Counter Terrorism Centre, which will become functional on March 1, will have the power to swoop into any state, arrest suspects and fly them out of the state; it will not be obliged to consult the local government. Law and order is a state subject in India. The new agency will keep state police in the loop but need not seek permission from state governments before launching any operation.
Of the group of five chief ministers that interpret the new body as a violation of the rights of states, it is Ms Banerjee's criticism that no doubt rankles the most. She is a senior ally of the coalition at the Centre; that hasn't stopped her from siding often with opposition parties, in Parliament and outside, on some of the government's biggest new policies. Her anger over attempts to introduce reforms in the retail sector forced the government into a humiliating retreat days after announcing its new guidelines.
It's not just her opposition but the company that she is keeping that has the Congress in knots. Ms Banerjee has met recently with the BJP - both sides described it as a courtesy call, but there is talk of a political flirtation.
So speculation is surging about whether Ms Banerjee is using the campaign against the Counter Terrorism Centre to test-run a wider partnership.