Mamata skipping meeting with PM breach of constitutional integrity, says Suvendu Adhikari

After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped Prime Minister's review meeting over cyclone Yaas, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said it was a breach of constitutional integrity and was shameful.

Addressing a press conference via video conferencing, Adhikari said that Banerjee is resorting to lies to satisfy her ego as she thinks of herself as not just the chief minister of West Bengal but of the entire country.

"On Friday, after an aerial survey of the cyclone-affected areas in West Bengal, there was a review meeting in East Midnapore, but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and administration made the Prime Minister wait for 30 minutes. It was a breach of constitutional integrity and was shameful," he said.

"Today in a presser Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she did not attend the meeting due to the presence of opposition leaders. She is resorting to lies to satisfy her ego as she thinks of herself as not just the chief minister of West Bengal but of the entire country," stated Adhikari.

Refuting Mamata's allegation that the opposition leaders were not invited to Prime Minister's review meetings in cyclone-affected Gujarat, he said Odisha Assembly LoP Pradipta Kumar Naik was called in Prime Minister's review meeting in Odisha with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Asked about Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's non-recognizing Adhikari as the leader of Opposition in the state assembly, he said, "For a non-MLA (Mamata) to keep complaining about an MLA (him) and duly recognized LoP by Assembly Speaker is not constitutional reality."

He alleged that Banerjee was making excuses that she was not "pre-informed" about Prime Minister's meeting.

"All lies. Her statement is fabricated and is unmindful of the people of the state. Both Odisha and West Bengal Chief Ministers were informed about meeting through the same process. She (Mamata Banerjee) is only using excuses," added the BJP leader.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting at Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district to take stock of the post cyclonic situation. Mamata Banerjee was supposed to attained the meeting. However, she along with the state chief secretary arrived late by 30 minutes and handed him over reports of damage caused by the impact of Cyclone Yaas. Following this, she left for her "pre-scheduled" meeting at Digha.

Banerjee asked for a Rs 20,000 crore relief package from the Centre after a cyclonic storm Yaas ravaged several parts of the state.

( With inputs from ANI )