Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his two days visit to Kolkata meets Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday evening at Raj Bhavan. The meeting came amid a massive protest in the city on PM’s visit as many protesters gathered at the Kolkata airport raising slogans against him.
Addressing the media outside Raj Bhavan, Mamata Banerjee said, “It was a courtesy call since he has come to Bengal. I told him that people of the state are not accepting the NRC (National Register of Citizens), NPR (National Population Register) and CAA. I asked him to rethink these steps.”
She told that PM requested her to come to Delhi to discuss the issue as it is a national issue and he has come to Bengal for other programmes.
Another major discussion of the meet was about the amount that the centre owes to Bengal. “I also reminded him that the centre owes around Rs 28 crore to Bengal including Rs 7 crore as relief for Cyclone Bulbul,” she told.
After meeting the PM, Mamata went to participate in a demonstration held by Trinamool Chhatra Parishad in Kolkata against CAA and NRC.
To mark protest against the Prime Minister’s visit to Kolkata, hundreds of protesters holding black flags staged a demonstration at Kolkata airport’s gate number one.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankar, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, state municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim and other BJP leaders went to the airport to attend PM Modi.
PM Modi will be in Kolkata on Saturday and Sunday and is scheduled to attend the function marking the 150th anniversary of Kolkata Port Trust on Sunday and other programmes.
Keeping in mind the security of PM, the police had put up a barricade to prevent them from crossing over the airport side. From the airport, a chopper took PM to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) and from there he left for the Raj Bhavan.
As per the reports, as the convoy emerged outside the RCTC, protesters stood at the AJC Bose Road flyover flank and waved national flags, black flags and shouted slogans against CAA.