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No confirmation on political meetings, Mamata Banerjee cancels China visit

Mamata was to visit China leading a delegation of industrialists from West Bengal to explore investment possibilities.

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has cancelled her visit to China on Friday. She was supposed to fly in the evening to the neighbouring country leading a delegation of industrialists from the state, apparently to explore investment possibilities. According to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, no confirmation from China about the "political meetings" during her proposed visit forced her to cancel it, although the schedule was on track till Thursday.

On Friday afternoon, Banerjee tweeted, "In March this year, the Union Minister of External Affairs had recommended to me to kindly consider leading a delegation to China in the coming months under the Exchange Programme of the Government of India with the International Department of the Communist Party of China."

She added that she appreciated External Affairs Minister’s recommendation and offered to visit the neighbouring country during last week of June, 2018.

Giving details of her visit, Banerjee said a programme was chalked out in pursuance of the letters from Chief Secretary and the Ambassador of India in China.

However, the Chinese side could not confirm the political meetings, she said in another tweet.

The West Bengal chief minister explained that the non-confirmation of the political meetings compelled them to cancel the visit.

Mamata, however, expressed hope that Indo-China friendship will continue and strengthen the interest of the two countries.

State finance minister Amit Mitra, who also announced the cancellation of Mamata Banerjee's visit to China along with state chief secretary Malay Kumar De at the state secretariat, pointed out that the chief minister's visit in absence of any confirmation from China to the Indian Ambassador in that country would not serve any purpose.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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