Mamata invited to Rome by Community of Sant' Egidio

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has received an invitation to address the "World Meeting for Peace" promoted by the Community of Sant' Egidio — a Catholic association dedicated to social service — in Rome, on October 6 and 7. She has been invited keeping in consideration her work for "social justice", "development" and "peace".

This comes at a time when BJP is constantly trying to prove that there has been a deterioration of the law and order situation in Bengal after the Chief Minister came to power for the third consecutive time despite Banerjee's tireless efforts and work towards peace, which is garnering global recognition.

The Chief Minister is the only Indian to be a part of the international event that has been named "Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth" and it once again takes Bengal to a new height in the global platform.

His Holiness Pope Francis, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Great Imam of Al-Azhar (Egypt) HE Ahmad al-Tayyib and German Chancellor Angela Merkel along with representatives of "the great religions" would be participating in the meeting for peace promoted by the 50-year-old international body "accepting the legacy of the historic Day of Prayer of Assisi, called for by John Paul II in 1986".

This would be Banerjee's second visit to Rome and first International tour after returning to power for the third consecutive term with a thumping majority in the last Assembly polls. Earlier, Banerjee visited Rome in September 2016 when she attended the Canonisation ceremony of Mother Teresa at the Invitation of Missionaries of Charity.

Banerjee played a crucial role in restoring peace at both the state and the national level. She single-handedly, after coming to power in 2011, brought back "peace and plenty" in tribal-dominated Jangalmahal in the western part of Bengal and also at the Hills in the north. The Maoist-infested Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapore and Jhargram now has been turned into peace havens by the Chief Minister. Her repeated messages in support of peace during the Delhi riots in 2020 that claimed around 53 lives drew widespread attention of leaders in the nation's Capital prompting them to take action to bring an end to the violence.

The Chief Minister, who was invited to address a gathering to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda in Chicago in 2013, could not go after the Union Home Ministry did not give the necessary permission. Political experts feel that similar action would be taken by the Union Home Ministry as BJP was constantly circulating a false message that peace has deteriorated in Bengal after she came to power for the third term in a row.

"First of all I would like to express my personal congratulations on your significant election and for the important work for social justice, for the development of your country and, therefore, for peace, which you have been doing for over ten years now. Allow me to tell you that I feel your commitment and your generous battles in favour of the weakest and most disadvantaged, very close to my sensitivity and to the work of the Community of Sant' Egidio in Rome and in all world," wrote the community's President Prof. Marco Impagliazzo in his July 22 dated letter to the Chief Minister.

It works for peace and development of the underprivileged across the globe since its inception in 1968 and "from the second half of the eighties the Community of Sant' Egidio, through its "Peoples and Religions" Department, has organised meetings and occasions of dialogue among leaders of Christian Churches and world religions, together with distinguished representatives of international politics and culture, to foster mutual understanding and a commitment to develop justice and peace".

Earlier, Banerjee visited different parts of the world, including London, Frankfurt in Germany and Milan in Italy that benefitted the state by attracting investment in different sectors. She had also visited The Hague in the Netherlands in 2017 and received the first prize in the United Nations (UN) Public Service Award for the Asia Pacific for Kanyashree Scheme taking Bengal to a new height.

In 2020, Banerjee became the only Indian woman leader and an administrative head to receive an invitation to address the most prestigious Oxford Union Debate since 1823.