Powell meets Bengal governor but Mamata remains elusive
KOLKATA: The meeting between US ambassador to India Nancy Powell and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee finally did not take place on Friday, even though Powell met governor MK Narayanan in the morning.
The meeting with Banerjee, scheduled at 1 pm, had been announced on the Trinamool Congress website.
As soon as it became clear the meeting would not happen, speculation started at the state secretariat on why it fell through. Many felt since Powell had last met BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, a meeting with her could send the signal that Banerjee was cosying up to the BJP. Though the party has been wooing her, Banerjee has been maintaining a distance.
Banerjee claimed that she had no such meeting lined up. “My diary has no such appointment,” she said, scoffing at journalists for publishing news she wasn’t aware of. TMC spokesperson Derek O’Brien said the information was uploaded by mistake and was removed soon.
A US embassy spokesperson said, “We were unable to confirm an appointment with her (Banerjee’s) office,” but refused to clarify why Powell came to Kolkata.
Powell’s meeting with the governor wasn’t listed in the embassy website either, even though it usually lists all the meetings. Had it taken place, it would have been the second meeting between Powell and Banerjee — the last one was in September 2012.
During the 2011 assembly elections, the Left had alleged that Banerjee was getting US funds for the polls. Now with the Lok Sabha polls a few months away, Banerjee may not like to let the Left have another shot at her.