Mamata's Nepal visit stands cancelled
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to Nepal to address a Nepali Congress convention stood cancelled as the Trinamool Congress chairperson did not get any clearance for the trip from the Ministry of External Affairs.
This is not the first time when the Centre has denied permission to the Chief Minister over a visit to a foreign country. In September, the Centre had denied clearance to her to visit Rome to address the "World Meeting for Peace" promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio.
Banerjee is, however, scheduled to visit Darjeeling on December 27. She has already initiated her district visit after the second wave of Covid and has even been to different North and South Bengal districts. Now, she would be visiting Darjeeling.
It was on Friday morning when the communiqué reached the state Secretariat about the Centre's denial in giving clearance to Banerjee to visit Nepal with which Bengal shares around 100 km border. However, no reason has been stated, sources added.
Banerjee was invited to address the 14th national convention of the Nepali Congress by party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is also the country's Prime Minister. The national convention of the Nepali Congress, which led Nepal to modernity from medieval conditions in 1950, is scheduled to be held from December 10 to 12. If the Centre had given permission, Banerjee would have attended the convention on December 11 and she was also scheduled to leave directly for Goa from Nepal. If everything had gone as planned, she would have left for Nepal on Friday itself. A senior officer said the state had sent the invitation to the Centre for its approval without any delay soon after it received it.
Deuba had informed the Chief Minister in his invitation letter that her presence in the programme would encourage them to work together in the strengthening of democracy in their region and beyond and reinforce party-to-party relations.
It may be recalled that the Ramakrishna Mission Vedanta Centre at Chicago had invited Banerjee to address the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at the Centre. She also agreed to address the gathering. However, at the eleventh hour, the Union Home department raised objections and the Chicago centre wrote a letter tendering apology and postponed the programme due to unavoidable circumstances. Again in 2018, the Chief Minister's visit to China was also postponed just a few hours ahead of the scheduled departure. In the same year, Banerjee's lecture on "Idea of India" at St Stephens College on August 1 was cancelled.
Banerjee had reacted sharply when the Centre did not allow her to visit Rome. She had hit out at the Centre claiming that it was "hatching conspiracy" and "denying clearance" to her to visit Rome to address the World Meeting for Peace just out of "jealousy". "Leaders of all religions would be attending the World Peace Meeting promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio in Rome (on October 6 and 7). His Holiness Pope Francis, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Great Imam of Al-Azhar (Egypt) Ahmad al-Tayyib and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be attending the meeting. I never differentiate among religions and humanity is my only "ism". Since BJP endorses Hinduism, I would like to raise a question that why did you not allow a Hindu woman to attend the peace meeting in which I would have represented the country. This is a conspiracy hatched out of utter jealousy," Banerjee had then said during a rally.
