PM-Mamata meeting: Banerjee's good sense has prevailed - Dilip Ghosh

Kolkata: West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh Wednesday said he is happy that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "good sense" has prevailed and she has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi during the day. Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, called on Modi in New Delhi during the day.

The prime minister's office tweeted pictures of the two leaders at Modi's official residence. This was the first time that Banerjee, who has been among the harshest critics of Modi and the BJP, met him after the Visva Bharati University Convocation at Shantiniketan in May 2018. She did not attend Modi's swearing-in in May when he took charge for the second time and had stayed away from the Niti Aayog meeting in June.

Banerjee said after the meeting that she had discussed developmental issues of the state during the meeting with the prime minister and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a courtesy. "It is good that her (Banerjee's) good sense has at last prevailed. But I think it's too late. Her attempts to save herself and her party (TMC) from CBI will not yield any results. The law will take its own course and all those who have looted public money or have aided the culprits will have to go behind the bars," Ghosh told reporters.

The investigating agency is probing the chit fund scam in the state in which thousands of innocent investors have been duped of crores of rupees with promises of high returns. According to state BJP leaders who did not wish to be named said, Banerjee's keenness on meeting Shah proves her desperation when CBI is on the verge of arresting former Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar. "As the arrest of Rajeev Kumar looks imminent she has become desperate and she can go to any extent. That is why she wants to meet Amit Shahji, but it won't yield results," a BJP leader said.

Kumar, who was part of a special investigation team set up by the state government to investigate the Saradha ponzi scheme scam, is under CBI scanner in connection with the case. He has been evading CBI summons for assisting in the probe in the chitfund scam after the Calcutta High Court on September 13 vacated its interim order granting him protection from arrest in the chit-fund case. BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvergia had said on Tuesday that Banerjee is making a desperate attempts to save Kumar as she is well aware that his arrest would ensure that half of her cabinet will end up in jail.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha and a known critic of Banerjee, questioned the timing of the meet. "She did not attend earlier meetings called by the Centre. So what was the urgency that she has to meet the prime minister and now wants to meet Amit Shah all of a sudden ? So it is anybody's guess what actually is her demand," Chowdhury said. Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty too echoed Chowdhury. Senior TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim said the meeting was between the state government and the central government.