| Font Size |
The meeting is part of Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee’s effort to maintain good relations with the former governor, who was vociferous in various issues in Bengal during his tenure and critical of the state government’s handling of Nandigram. Gandhi in turn sent his good wishes to Banerjee for the civic poll win.
Even as the meeting fueled rumors of growing proximity between the Trinamool Congress and Gandhi, Chatterjee brushed aside such views and said the meeting was just a courtesy call.
“One should not read too much into this meeting. It was a courtesy visit. The former governor sent his good wishes to Banerjee. I apprised him about the present situation in Bengal,” said Chatterjee. However, according to highly-placed sources in the Trinamool, in the long run the party would like the former governor to be one of Banerjee’s think-tank and well wishers. “Now, Gandhi is spending his time writing guest columns in newspapers. He is a great man, and during his five-year tenure in Bengal he was one of the best governors we had. I shared a memorable time at his home. I told him that the people of Bengal will never forget him,” added Chatterjee. It was Gandhi who, for the first time, had brought Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the Trinamool chief on the negotiating table in Raj Bhavan on the Singur issue, though the talks failed to reach a consensus.
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
|
|