Kolkata: The scheduled meeting of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari with the 20 erstwhile Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha members who joined the National Citizens’ Party of India (NCPI) at 1 p.m. in New Delhi on Tuesday was cancelled, as per information communicated on Monday.
The decision to cancel the meeting followed a sudden development after Sudip Bandopadhyay, a four-time Lok Sabha member and one of the most prominent faces among the 20 Trinamool-turned-NCPI MPs, met CM Adhikari at the state secretariat Nabanna late Monday night.
The hurriedly convened meeting between Bandopadhyay and CM Adhikari took place amid speculation that the 20 Trinamool-turned-NCPI MPs had been invited to attend the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Development Alliance (NDA).
Amid talk that the MPs might finally become part of the NDA, the crucial meeting between Bandopadhyay and CM Adhikari was held on Monday night, following which the Chief Minister’s scheduled trip to Delhi on Tuesday was cancelled.
The Chief Minister was on a tour of North Bengal on Monday. After returning to Kolkata in the evening, he reached the state secretariat following his arrival at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. By that time, Bandopadhyay had also reached Nabanna. A meeting was held between CM Adhikari and Bandopadhyay in the Chief Minister’s chamber for around an hour. After that, it was learnt that the Chief Minister’s scheduled programme in New Delhi had been cancelled.
Incidentally, on Monday, Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting his intervention for expeditious disposal of disqualification petitions against the 20 Trinamool-turned-NCPI MPs who joined NCPI soon after the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were announced.
(IANS)
