Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, before departing for London on Saturday evening, claimed that she will be monitoring the developments in the state for the next few days from the UK.
“I will not be in the state for the next four to five days. But I will be in constant touch with the administration here. We will ensure that no one faces any problems. I wish all in the state to stay in peace,” the Chief Minister told media persons after reaching the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
She and her team will have a stopover at Dubai late in the night and from there, they will fly again to London. The Chief Minister and her team are expected to reach London by Sunday afternoon as per the Indian time.
Addressing the media persons, Banerjee did not hide her apprehension at the prolonged journey including the stopover in Dubai. “This is the problem because there is no direct flight between Kolkata and London. That is why this trip will become extremely hectic, since commuting both ways will consume a sufficient amount of time. But it is all right. The programmes there will be as per schedule. Again I am requesting the people of the state to stay peacefully and safely,” she said.
The Chief Minister will be having a packed schedule in London from Monday. On March 24, she is slated to attend a programme hosted by the Indian High Commission at London.
Thereafter on March 25, she is supposed to meet the local industrialists and businessmen at a business meeting there. On March 26, a “Government-to-Business (G2B)” level meeting is scheduled to take place. On March 27, the Chief Minister will be delivering a lecture at one of the colleges affiliated with Oxford University.
On March 28, she will depart from London on her way back to Kolkata.
Banerjee was also invited to the United Kingdom in 2021 to deliver a lecture at Oxford University. However, the Trinamool Congress alleged that the programme was cancelled due to the clandestine initiative by the Central government.
The Chief Minister visited the United Kingdom in 2015 too. There she was accompanied by several members of her cabinet, including the then state Finance Minister Amit Mitra, who is the Chief Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister now.
(IANS)
