I don’t differentiate between North, South or West Bengal: Mamata
‘They are all the same for me. I want everyone to have a good and a peaceful life’
DARJEELING: Halting the narrative of a separate state of North Bengal on its tracks, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said: “I do not differentiate between North Bengal, South Bengal or West Bengal. They are all the same for me. I want everyone to have a good and a peaceful life.”
At the end of her three-day visit to the Darjeeling Hills, the Chief Minister, talking to media persons at Bagdogra, on her way back to Kolkata, said: “I congratulated Anit Thapa on my way back from Darjeeling. I want both the Hills and Plains to stay in peace and to stay well.”
Incidentally, Banerjee was in Darjeeling to attend the swearing-in ceremony of 45 elected members of GTA on Tuesday. On Wednesday, she was present at a West Bengal Government commemorating the birth anniversary of Nepali poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya. In the evening she met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam. The meeting labeled a “courtesy tea meeting” went on for almost three hours.
On Thursday, Banerjee did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Anit Thapa as the Chief Executive member of the GTA. She had earlier said: “I have done my part. I was present for the swearing-in of all the 45 elected members of the GTA. On Thursday, the oath-taking will be done by the Governor. I will return to Kolkata on that day.”
“I will be visiting Kolkata soon to hold talks with different departments for the streamlining of the functioning of the GTA,” stated Anit Thapa, Chief Executive member, GTA.
On Thursday morning Banerjee went for her usual morning walk to Singamari. On her way back, she entered a rundown roadside eatery and helped an elderly lady, the owner of the shop, shape Momos (Tibetan dumplings).
“Today I made momos during my morning walk in Darjeeling. Elated to share such special moments with my people,” stated Banerjee, sharing pictures on a social media site.
Earlier, the Chief Minister on her way up to Darjeeling on Monday had heard a Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) song on Anit Thapa, at Salbari. She liked
the song.
On Thursday when she was returning to Bagdogra, the same song with different lyrics was played for her when her cavalcade slowed in front of Gorkha Ranga Mancha. An elated Chief Minister got down from the vehicle and thanked the crowd that had gathered to bid farewell. This song titled “Mamata, Mamata” in Nepali, will soon be remade in Bengali in her honour, stated a party insider.
“Darjeeling will always have my heart, and I salute the hardworking people of our Hills who make every visit so memorable,” wrote the Chief Minister on her Facebook page.