Mamata Banerjee has been at loggerheads with the centre over multiple issues (File)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, one of the harshest critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday listed the "issues" she will discuss with the PM at her meeting tomorrow. Changing the state's name will be among "several problems" that will be discussed with PM Modi, she said.
"I go to New Delhi very rarely. This is a routine work. This time I am going to talk about funds that are due to West Bengal. I will also highlight issues like changing West Bengal's name," she was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
The Trinamool Congress wants to change the name of the state from West Bengal to Bangla. 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.
"Will also talk about matters like merger of public sector banks, issues with Air India, BSNL, Railways where there are several problems. They (employees of these organisations) cannot go anywhere and come to us," Ms Banerjee said before leaving for New Delhi.
This will be the first meeting between PM Modi and Ms Banerjee since the national election. They had last met in 2018 during a ceremony at a university in West Bengal.
Mamata Banerjee has been at loggerheads with the centre over multiple issues, including the CBI investigation into the various Ponzi schemes in the state.
Lately, she has taken on the government over multiple central schemes, including the steep new traffic fines and the Citizens' list, saying neither will be implemented in Bengal.
During the national election, Ms Banerjee had said that she wanted to give PM Modi a "tight slap of democracy".
"Money does not matter to me. That is why when Narendra Modi came to Bengal and accused my party of being tolabaaz, I wanted to give him a tight slap of democracy," Ms Banerjee had said at a rally in Bengal.
The BJP went on to win 18 Lok Seats in West Bengal, making deep inroads into the state.
Ms Banerjee on Tuesday wished PM Modi on his 69th birthday. "Birthday greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji," she wrote on Twitter.
With inputs from PTI