West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee met veteran BJP leader LK Advani at his chamber in Parliament on Wednesday and termed it a “courtesy call”.
Their meeting is known to have lasted 20 minutes.
“I know Advaniji for a very long time. I went to enquire about his health. It was a courtesy call,” Banerjee said after the meeting.
Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad also came to meet her at the TMC office in Parliament, followed by Congress leaders Gulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel.
“Her efforts to unite opposition leaders are commendable,” Azad said after the meeting.
Reportedly, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav also met her.
The West Bengal chief minister is expected to meet leaders of 14 opposition parties and some NDA allies in Parliament today.
In other news, members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam are learnt to have filed a police complaint on Tuesday accusing Banerjee of inciting “hate and tension” among communities, a few hours after she warned that exclusion of 4 million people from National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam could lead to “bloodbath” and a “civil war” in the country.
Banerjee has been at the forefront of attacks on the central government since the NRC draft list has been released. On Tuesday, she also accused the Modi government of trying to make millions of people “stateless” in Assam for political gains.