After meeting Modi, Mamata asks for all-party meeting on Pegasus
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi. Banerjee said she discussed COVID-19 and the Pegasus snooping scandal with the PM. Banerjee is notably on a five-day visit to Delhi, during which, she is also expected to meet Opposition leaders with an eye on the 2024 general elections.
Banerjee calls it 'courtesy meeting'
Banerjee had sought a meeting with Modi earlier this month. This was the first official meeting between the two since the West Bengal Assembly elections where Banerjee's Trinamool Congress beat Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. They had met briefly at the Kalaikunda Air Base for a review meeting over Cyclone Yaas. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after the meeting, Banerjee called it a "courtesy meeting."
What did the two leaders discuss at the meeting?
Banerjee told reporters that she discussed the COVID-19 situation in West Bengal during the meeting with Modi. She said the state needs more vaccines and medicines, claiming it received relatively lesser vaccine doses. She also said that Modi should call for an all-party meeting on the Pegasus scandal. She, however, refused to comment on what the PM said during the meeting.
Raised issue of Bengal's pending name change: Banerjee
Banerjee further said that she also raised the pending issue of the change of West Bengal's name. Asked if she will attend the Parliament's ongoing Monsoon Session, Banerjee said, "If journalists are not allowed in the Central Hall, how can I go to Parliament?"
Banerjee's 5-day visit to Delhi
Banerjee is on a high-profile five-day visit to Delhi. Before meeting Modi, she met former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath and Congress MP Anand Sharma. She is scheduled to meet Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Tuesday. She will also meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday. She may also meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
