This will be Banerjee’s second visit to the UK after November 2017 when she had attended a business meeting organised by Scottish Development International
The Centre on Wednesday approved West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposed visit to London later this month to deliver a lecture at the University of Oxford, a source at state secretariat Nabanna said.
Banerjee is slated to leave for London on March 21 and is scheduled to deliver the lecture on March 27, the source added.
Pro vice-chancellor of Oxford University, Jonathan Michie, had invited her in November 2023 when he was in Kolkata for the Bengal Global Business Summit.
The CM’s flight to London is scheduled on March 21 via Dubai.
This will be Banerjee’s second visit to the UK after November 2017 when she had attended a business meeting organised by Scottish Development International with the support of the Asia Scotland Institute and the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, in Edinburgh. The CM is scheduled to return on March 29.
In September 2023, Banerjee went to Spain to attract investments for the state. From there, she attended another business conference hosted by the Dubai administration.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday criticised Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari for his remarks in the Assembly, accusing the BJP of targeting Muslims during the holy month of Ramzan to divert attention from economic and trade issues.
Speaking in the Assembly, CM Banerjee said, “Democracy is permanent, but the chair is not. Respect the chair. How can you think of throwing out Muslim MLAs? They (BJP) are targeting the Muslims because this is the Roza month, and they don’t like this. They are trying to distract the attention of the country from economic and trade collapse by making communal statements. I’m a Hindu, and I don’t need certification from the BJP.”
Reacting to Adhikari’s statement, she further said, “We must take a resolution and condemn the statement of demeaning one religion.”
West Bengal CM added, “The Protection of Hindus is our responsibility, not only yours.This is the responsibility of this chair.”
The remarks come amid ongoing political tensions in the state, with the BJP and TMC engaging in heated exchanges over religious and governance issues.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, on Tuesday had said, “Firstly, I will defeat Biman Bandhopadhyay (Speaker), then Mamata Banerjee. After that, those Muslim MLAs from TMC–when the BJP government comes–will be thrown out on this road.”
While protesting against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, Adhikari said, “Mamata has divided society… On the day of the Ram Mandir inauguration, Mamata took out a march in Bengal… TMC is an anti-Hindu government. I will do whatever is necessary for Hindu interests. If one Suvendu dies, one crore Suvendus will rise. Remove Mamata… Remove Chor Mamata!” .
Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee formed a committee to check the alleged irregularities in the voters’ list in every district of West Bengal. She alleged that the BJP had added fake voters to the voters’ list to manipulate elections in Maharashtra and Delhi and was trying the same trick in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar met with the Election Commission in Delhi to file a complaint on the alleged fake voter issue.
BJP Co-incharge for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, who was part of the delegation, said that the leaders emphasized the need for an audit and voter roll revision.
Speaking to mediapersons, he said that the delegation pointed out to the Election Commission that there are about 8,415 voters with similar EPIC numbers.
“Today a delegation of BJP West Bengal met the Election Commission. We emphasized the need for an audit and voter roll revision. We have apprised the Election Commission that there are more than 13 lakh duplicate voters in Bengal,” Malviya said.
“We have also pointed out to the Election Commission that there are about 8,415 voters with similar EPIC numbers… Over the last 14 years, Mamata Banerjee and her government have systematically infiltrated the voter roll with illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, he added.
“We have also impressed upon the Election Commission to look at cleaning up the voter roll and identifying these illegal voters so that our democratic process is not compromised. We also brought the Election Commission’s attention to the violence that marked the electoral exercise in West Bengal. The Election Commission has assured us that they will look into our demands and take appropriate steps,” the BJP leader stated.
This comes amid the opposition parties questioning the electoral process and voter list manipulation.
