West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "courtesy meeting" with Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari at her chamber in the state assembly on Friday led to speculations in political circles, with the Congress claiming that the meeting suggests a “Didi-Modi patch-up.”
Adhikari and Banerjee have been at loggerheads since 2020 when he switched over to the BJP from the TMC and defeated Banerjee in Nandigram in the assembly elections. The meeting between the two leaders is a first since the assembly polls.
Adhikari was seen entering Banerjee's chamber along with BJP leaders Manoj Tigga and Agnimitra Paul, shortly after the assembly session broke for recess in the afternoon. The CM said she invited Adhikari for tea.
After the meeting, the chief minister said the person who she used to treat like her younger brother is now saying the government in Bengal has become ‘of the party, by the party, and for the party. “What if I say the Centre has become a government of the agency, by the agency and for the agency,” she asked.
The meeting came close on the heels of Adhikari complaining that his name was not included in the invitation letter for the 'Constitution Day' programme in the assembly and said he would boycott the event.
Playing down the meeting, Adhikari said it was just a courtesy call. “Nothing else should be read into it. I did not have tea." He said contesting from Nandigram was not a personal fight against Mamata but a political and ideological fight.
Even as both Adhikari and Banerjee sought to play down the meeting, the Congress and the CPI(M) claimed that this suggests there is an understanding between the BJP and the TMC in the state.
Congress leader Kamurzzan Chowdhury claimed that the process of "Didi-Modi patch-up" is underway ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "The Centre released funds for Pradhan Mantri Gram Awas Yojana yesterday, and Mamata is scheduled to meet PM Modi on December 5. Today, the CM met Suvendu. All these point to the fact that the process for Didi-Modi patch-up is underway," he said.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty told news agency PTI that "it became clear from today's meeting that there is an understanding between the TMC and the BJP".
—With PTI inputs
