Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Defence Rajnath Singh, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda, BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari and many others have slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for arriving 30 minutes late for a review meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Governor Jagdeep Dhankar on the impact of Cyclone Yaas in the state.
Reportedly, PM Modi had a 15-minute meeting with Banerjee at Kalaikunda Air Base in Bengal's West Midnapore district. However, they were to hold a review meeting later to assess damage but the Chief Minister skipped it. In her defence, Banerjee said she was not made aware of the meeting in time. "Prime Minister called the meeting... we (her office) didn't know. I had a meeting in Digha (but) I went to Kalaikunda and gave the report asking for ₹ 20,000 crore. I told him you (state officials) wanted to meet me. I took his permission and left," Banerjee was quoted by news agency ANI.
When she arrived for the review meeting, 30 minutes late, Banerjee reportedly handed over papers related to the impact of Cyclone Yaas and said that she had other meetings lined up and left.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed Mamata Banerjee and said she has put her arrogance above public welfare. "Mamata Didi’s conduct today is an unfortunate low. Cyclone Yaas has affected several common citizens and the need of the hour is to assist those affected. Sadly, Didi has put arrogance above public welfare and today’s petty behaviour reflects that," he tweeted.
Union Defence Rajnath Singh said, "Today's developments in West Bengal are shocking, PM & CM are not just individuals but institutions. Such behaviour towards the PM, who had gone to visit the State is painful. This is an example of placing political differences over constitutional duty."
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan termed her attitude "deplorable'. "West Bengal CM’s deplorable attitude towards well-established democratic ethos and the people of her state is a clear testimony that for her political differences, bloated ego and false pride is way above the welfare of people of West Bengal," he wrote.
BJP President JP Nadda accused her of "murder of constitutional ethos and the culture of cooperative federalism." Nadda said Modi holds the principle of cooperative federalism "very sacred" and has been actively working with all chief ministers irrespective of their party affiliation to give relief to people but unsurprisingly, he added, Banerjee's tactics and petty politics have once again come to haunt the people of Bengal. "When PM Narendra Modi stands strong with the citizens of West Bengal in wake of Cyclone Yaas, Mamata ji should also set aside her ego for the welfare of people. Her absence from the PM's meeting is murder of constitutional ethos & the culture of cooperative federalism," he tweeted.
Nandigram MLA Suvendu Adhikari termed it a "dark day in India’s long-standing ethos of cooperative federalism". "CM @MamataOfficial has shown once again that she is insensitive to the sufferings of the people of West Bengal," he said. In a series of tweets, Adhikari said Banerjee's behaviour "reflects her dictatorial nature and lack of respect for constitutional values". "Instead of working with the PM for the betterment of West Bengal, she is indulging in petty politics. Her skipping the meeting is disgusting," he added.
