WB Chief Secretary Transfer Heading Cyclone Relief is Latest Stage in Centre’s War on Mamata

Kolkata: 29 May. Cyclone Yaas wrecked the country’s eastern coast, hitting West Bengal and Orissa on Wednesday, and inflicting large scale damage to human habitats and farmlands. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook an aerial survey across parts of the two states to ‘take stock’ of the damage caused by the cyclone.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was slated to be part of the review meeting in West Medinipur’s Kalaikunda but gave it a miss at the last moment. She cited an “important administrative meeting” in the cyclone-struck district of East Medinipur as the reason for her unavailability. Banerjee, however, went to the venue in Kalaikunda and met the prime minister separately, handing over a report of the damage wrought and funds required for relief and reconstruction. She then left the venue before the scheduled administrative meeting began.
“I have met the prime minister and handed over to him demands for a package of Rs 20,000 crore. But I could not stay in the meeting because of the state’s administrative review meeting at Digha,” Banerjee told the media later.
Quoting an unnamed senior official at the state secretariat, Outlook reported that West Bengal had informed the Centre in advance of its reservations about the scheduled presence of BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari in the meeting with Modi.
Adhikari, once Banerjee’s close confidante, joined the BJP three months before the state assembly election. He and Banerjee locked horns against each other from East Medinipur’s Nandigram seat, where the former won with a slender margin.
Right after the news broke that Banerjee had skipped the review meeting with the prime minister, a political slugfest between the BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) started. Union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-governed states and scores of senior BJP leaders took to Twitter to condemn the West Bengal CM’s decision.
Union home minister Amit Shah tweeted, “Mamata Didi’s conduct today is an unfortunate low. Cyclone Yaas has affected several common citizens and the need of the hour is to assist those affected. Sadly, Didi has put arrogance above public welfare and today’s petty behaviour reflects that.”