Mamata, Naveen hold ‘informal’ meet, discuss federalism, democratic rights

While court pronouncements concerning Rahul Gandhi kept leaders of Congress and BJP busy, chiefs of two former NDA allies met for an "informal discussion" in Bhubaneswar Thursday.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik talked about the continuity of a "permanent and strong" federal structure in India and the "safety of democratic rights" but refrained from spilling beans on what’s on their minds for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Both parties have an aversion to Congress and have maintained a distance from the BJP.

West Bengal and Odisha collectively have 63 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2019 elections, the BJD won 12 in Odisha, and the Trinamool bagged 22 seats in West Bengal. The BJP bagged 26 seats from the two states (18 from Bengal and 8 from Odisha).

Interacting with reporters after the meeting, Banerjee talked about the strong relationship the two neighbouring states share. "We have discussed safety, and democratic rights, and the nation’s safety. Let us hope, our people should be safe and sound," she said.

Banerjee said that there could be issues on which the two leaders may have differing opinions. “I may not discuss my opinion in front of him. Something he may not support, something I may not support,” she said.

Patnaik, who stood beside Banerjee, termed the meeting a courtesy call. “There was no in-depth discussion at all about serious political matters. We just said the federal structure in India should remain permanent, and strong. There was just a nice informal discussion, nothing of any solid nature.”

The Odisha government has offered two acres of land in Puri to let the Bengal government build a centre for tourists from Bengal. Banerjee invited Patnaik to Bengal and placed a request before him on behalf of a chamber of commerce for a possible MoU on availing iron ores from Odisha.