CHENNAI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday called on her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin at the latter’s residence in Alwarpet here. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes. Both leaders said they did not discuss politics and that it was a courtesy call.
Mamata said, “Stalinji is like my brother and it was a courtesy meeting. I came to Chennai because Governor L Ganesan invited me to a family function. But how can I leave Chennai without calling on Stalin? I think it is my duty to meet Stalinji and have a cup of coffee and what is popular in Chennai. We said namaste and vanakkam.”
During the meeting, Stalin presented Mamata with a book titled ‘Rule of the Commoner’ authored by Rajan Kurai Krishnan and two others. In return, she gave him a jar of rasgullas, a sweet famous in West Bengal.
Answering a question, she said, “When two political leaders meet, we can talk about something that may not be political but is in the interest of the people. Maybe something like development. I think development is better than politics.” In response to another question, she said, “I won’t comment on any political party.”
When a scribe said that just like West Bengal, the Tamil Nadu government has issues with the Governor, Mamata said, “We did not discuss that. It is absolutely a personal and courtesy visit. It is about brother and sister relationships. Now you can guess whether it is political, social, or cultural. Everything is up to you.”
Answering reporters’ queries, Stalin said Mamata invited him to Kolkata and he accepted her invitation. When asked about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Stalin said, “It was a courtesy call. We did not discuss politics or elections.” He recalled that Mamata unveiled the statue of former chief minister M Karunanidhi at the office of DMK mouthpiece Murasoli on the first death anniversary of the leader in 2019.
Mamata is in Chennai to take part in the 80th birthday celebrations of West Bengal Governor L Ganesan on November 3. The West Bengal CM may also meet several top politicians of Tamil Nadu, who are expected to be at Ganesan’s family function. Banerjee had, in the past, met several opposition leaders to try and forge unity among them.