KOLKATA: Union Home minister Amit Shah met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee one-to-one on the sidelines of Eastern Zonal Council meeting on Saturday where issues like land for Border Security Force (BSF) outposts and railway projects and Bengal government’s dues from the Centre were discussed. The meeting between the two political heavyweights continued for 20 minutes before Shah left for Kolkata airport.
In the Eastern Zonal Council meeting convened by Shah at Nbanna, the state secretariat, West Bengal CM, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and representatives from Odisha were present. Fencing along the India-Bangladesh border, cross-border smuggling and timely completion of the freight corridor were the agendas discussed in the meeting.
The one-to-one meeting between Shah and Mamata said to be politically significant at a time when the Bengal government and the Centre were at loggerheads on several occasions over several issues ranging from alleged highhandedness of central agencies against Trinamool Congress leaders and better coordination between the state police and the BSF
Suvendu Adhikari, BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition, who came to the airport to see off Shah, said, ‘’I asked Shahji about his meeting the with CM. He told me that lands required for setting up of 72 BSF outposts along the West Bengal-Bangladesh border and better communication between the state police force and the BSF were discussed with her. The Union minister also said that he explained why the India-Bangladesh border is very important for national security.’’
Adhikari said Shah called him for a meeting along with BJP’s state president in Delhi on Tuesday to discuss ‘’important issues’’.
Sources at Nabanna said that mort important issue that Shah highlighted in the Council meeting was the fencing of the border between Bengal and Bangladesh. "Of the 2,216 km of the border, 1,638 km is already covered with wired fencing. The Centre is stressing on erecting barbed fencing along another 150 km at the earliest. The rest of the frontier cannot be fenced as the border runs through rivers or has technical problems like the existence of villages within 150 meters from the boundary."
The issue of cattle smuggling was also discussed in the council meeting.
The ruling TMC is facing embarrassment on the issue of cattle smuggling to Bangladesh as the BJP never misses an opportunity to use it as a political tool, and the arrest of TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal by the CBI further pushed Mamata’s party on back foot.
The council meeting continued for 1 hour 40 minutes from 11 am. After the meet, Mamata requested Shah to visit her chamber on the 14th floor of the state secretariat.