In first such exercise by any Central representative after the change of guard in Delhi, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her State Secretariat office at Nabanna in Kolkata.
Though neither side would dwell much on the content of the meeting, Goyal who met the CM for about 40 minutes later told the media that it was a “courtesy call” on his behalf.
The Union Minister’s meeting with Banerjee, first since the new Government came to power at the Centre comes a fortnight ahead of his Cabinet colleague Smriti Irani’s scheduled meeting with the Chief Minister.
The meeting which was dubbed by many in the Bengal Government as “openning of a new chapter of workable relationship” between the two sides “as you cannot ignore the Central Government despite political differences” centred around issues like the suggested creation of a coal regulatory authority for fixing coal prices, sources said.
Banerjee like her other counterpars had also demanded the creation of a similar body to regulate coal prices along TRAI, sources said.