West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelled her China trip after the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) failed to give confirmation on the political-level talks with the Indian delegation. Banerjee was to leave for Bejing on Friday night. The Trinamool Congress supremo came to power in West Bengal seven years ago, crushing the 34 years left rule in the state.
The chief minister has been trying to go to China for five years to meet the Chinese business honchos to bring investment into her state. However, the MEA refused to grant permission citing that the chief minister could only hold business-level talks and not official level talks for which China's nod is needed.
Two months back, the permission was granted and it was decided that Banerjee would not only seek investment from the chambers but she would also lead a team of Indian officials to hold a political exchange with Chinese government. Surprisingly, the meeting was cancelled in the eleventh hour.
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According to West Bengal government, though the CPC had agreed to hold talks with the Indian delegation and invited Banerjee to visit their country, no letter confirming the political level meetings reached the state government till the last hour of her trip. Banerjee had formed a big team of industrialists, including Ambuja Neotia Group chairman Harshavardhan Neotia, Patton Industries MD Sanjay Budhia, Goenka group honcho Sanjeev Goenka and ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri.
"We were in touch with the Chinese government through central government. Central government was in touch with the Indian ambassador in China and Chinese ambassador in India. But Chinese government did not give any details of the meeting between the chief minister and the Chinese Communist Party officials," said a senior official of the state government.
Chief Secretary Moloy De confirmed the cancellation of the meeting saying, "There was no confirmation came from the Chinese political party about the meeting between them and the chief minister. So the chief minister has cancelled the trip."
All dialogues relating to the trip was being monitored by the central government. Senior officials of the West Bengal government said that the chief minister did not want to make a personal trip to China just to talk to a few "unimportant people" who don't carry enough weight.
Finance minister Amit Mitra, who was to accompany the chief minister, said that chief minister could not go to Bejing without getting a clear itinerary.
"In March, (Union minister) Sushma Swaraj wrote to the chief minister asking her to lead a delegation of external affairs ministry to China. The chief minister agreed in the interest of the nation. But no itinerary was fixed over political exchange even a few hours before we could leave. So she has decided to cancel it," said Mitra at a press conference.
Banerjee had last year held China responsible for the trouble in Darjeeling hills. She also accused China of running several schools in Darjeeling. Despite all that, a trip to China was worked out at the insistence of the Chinese consulate in Kolkata. However, it seemed that China wanted no official talks during her trip and was keen to make her visit a low key affair.
External affairs ministry also wanted a political dialogue during Mamata's trip over the state government's report on Chinese influence in chicken neck in Silliguri corridor in North Bengal.
However, neither the Chinese embassy nor its consulate has made any comment on this. A spokesman in Kolkata told THE WEEK, "Statement would be issued at an appropriate time."