In a cordial yet firm rebuttal of Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that Rajnath Singh’s two-day visit of the Indo-Bangla borders had a political undertone the Union Home Minister on Wednesday said that there should be no confusion that his was an official visit besides insisting that “Mamata Banerjee is an old friend.”
When asked to comment on Banerjee’s earlier statement that Singh’s visit to Bengal had political underpinnings and that his Ministry had not followed the protocols by not consulting her before Singh’s visit of the Teen Bigha corridor in North Bengal the Home Minister said “No it is not a political visit.” He reminded Home Ministry had “certain defined works to carry out and I am here to do that,” during his visit to the floating BSF outpost on the Ichhamati River in North 24 Parganas off Kolkata.
“Mamata Banerjee is an old friend and I respect her a lot. We share a cordial relation and I feel there should not be any misconception regarding this,” Singh said. Singh had on Tuesday said that the long outstanding Chit Mahal issue between India and Bangladesh should be handled with a humanitarian angle adding it would be taken up in Parliament soon. There are about 111 Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves inside Indian border.
Once the land Border Agreement between the two countries was implemented the people residing in these Chit Mahals would be able to enjoy the rights of a normal citizen. The settlement lBA of issue would also help solve infiltration problem to a great extent experts believe.