Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 December to discuss issues like Bengal’s pending dues among others. According to Trinamul Congress sources, Trinamul’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee may accompany her during the meeting. There are speculations about the presence of a MPs’ delegation as part of the team visiting the Prime Minister.
The issue of dues for the state has been long pending and Mamata Banerjee has been vocal about it at various podiums. Abhishek Banerjee had led the protests for Bengal’s dues in New Delhi and later in front of the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata. Party sources said Miss Banerjee provided all the necessary directions from home during the protest, which happened at Raj Ghat on Gandhi Jayanti to the campaign at Krishi Bhavan after the police crackdown.
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Leading the fight, Abhishek had demanded release of Rs 15,000cr dues of MGNREGA workers from Bengal. In April, party MP Sudip Bandopadhyay had written a letter to the Union rural development and panchayati Raj minister Giriraj Singh. It is said that the dues are of 21 lakh MGNREGA workers from the state. Along with that the state is also demanding dues for Awas Yojana.
All these protests contributed to Trinamul’s impact on the national political stage. After returning from Delhi, Abhishek resumed his protest at Bengal Governor’s residence, Raj Bhavan in November. If the two leaders jointly meet the PM in Delhi, it would put to rest all the speculations that there is any difference of opinion between the two. Mamata and Abhishek were also seen together at a family event in the Hills.
