KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi had convened a meeting inviting four major political parties in the backdrop of the post-poll violence in the state at the behest of the BJP.
“They (the governor) are the mouthpiece of the BJP. The BJP has asked him to hold an all-party meeting and that is why it has been called,” Banerjee said while visiting SSKM Hospital. The Trinamool Congress chief said Tripathi had also called her to take part in the meeting, but she declined as law and order was a state subject and “not the governor’s”.
“I said I cannot go because you are the governor and I am the elected government. Above all, law and order is a state subject. It is not your subject,” she said. “So I am sending a party representative there. He will go there, have a cup of tea and come back.”
Trinamool’s Partha Chatterjee, BJP’s vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar, state Congress president Somen Mitra and CPM’s politburo members participated in the meeting at the Raj Bhavan.
The all-party meeting convened by Governor K N Tripathi was held on Thursday to discuss steps to end political violence in the state.
After the meeting, BJP state vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said the governor gave some suggestions, but the TMC’s representative said he needs to consult the party.“We have handed over the names and details of 62 people, who were killed by Trinamool activists, to the Governor. On behalf of my party, I told the Governor that we want peace in the state. Governor mentioned about fair application of law enforcement,’’ said Majumdar.CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim alleged that both the BJP and the TMC were trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state.