In what looked like a frustrated response to posers related to the swearing-in of Narendra Modi as the 15th Prime Minister of India, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not only refused to comment on the event but rebuked the media for asking such questions, “that are irrelevant and not related to the reason why I have called the Press conference”.
The Chief Minister met the media on Monday at the end of a Cabinet meeting when she dropped hints of bringing together a number of State transport corporations.
“Is it a Press conference not the place to answer irrelevant questions,” she said, adding, “I can only reply to questions pertaining to the objective of this meeting and not about the Government (in Delhi). This is my conference and I cannot satisfy you (on other matters), please,” a visibly irritated Banerjee told the media when asked to comment on the swearing-in of Modi.
The CM had a sustained war of words with Modi when he was campaigning in Bengal for his party’s candidates recently.
Banerjee, who also presaged a bigger role for her party after the elections saying Trinamool would be the third largest outfit in Delhi and no other group would be able to form a Government without her help, seemed to have gone into a shell after the election results gave the BJP absolute majority.
Another reason for her irritation was the large-scale apprehension within the TMC about the rising prowess of the BJP in Bengal, experts said. The saffron outfit had upped its vote share to about 18 per cent and was leading in several Assembly segments.
In fact the Trinamool was also worried about the municipal elections to about 18 civic bodies that are due in a couple of months. The BJP has done extremely well in all these municipalities.
Banerjee stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony of Modi despite his personal request and chose to send her two representatives, Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Rajya Sabha member Mukul Roy.
Meanwhile Kolkata and parts of Bengal rejoiced the Monday’s “epoch making occasion” with the people stopping in hordes to watch the swearing-in on the giant screens set up by the BJP in many parts of Kolkata and elsewhere.