'As if I'm their SERVANT': Mamata Banerjee slams Centre's improper invite for Netaji Statue event

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed the Narendra Mod-led central government for its "lack of decency" in sending an invite to her through an undersecretary for the unveiling ceremony of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's statue in New Delhi.

Banerjee also noted that an undersecretary "is not supposed to write to a CM inviting him or her".

"I got a letter yesterday, written probably by an undersecretary yesterday saying the PM will inaugurate the Netaji statue at 7 pm and you must be there at 6 pm. As if I am their servant or bonded labour. How can an undersecretary write to a Chief Minister? Why has the culture minister become so big," Mamata Banerjee said at a party gathering in Kolkata.

"They have lost their senses. That's why I garlanded the Netaji statue here in the afternoon today to offer my respects. I have done here in Bengal what they would have done in Delhi," she said. “This reflects a lack of decency on their part,’’ the TMC boss said.

Banerjee also slammed the Centre for not inviting her to be a part of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ongoing visit to India. Banerjee said she had come to know that “Hasina wanted to meet her”, and wondered why the BJP-led central government was "worried" about her meeting the Bangladesh PM.

"I share an excellent relationship with her (Hasina), but (the Centre) did not invite me to be a part of her visit," she said here while addressing a special session of the Trinamool Congress. 

"I don't want to talk about external affairs or bilateral ties. But, I have noticed that the Centre tries to stop me whenever I am invited to any foreign country... I don't need to go out because travelling in Bengal is like covering the entire world," Banerjee said. Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a four-day tour to expand overall ties between the two countries.

It may be noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate on Thursday, besides inaugurating the newly christened Kartavya Path, a stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.

Earlier, Netaji's nearly 80-year-old daughter Anita Bose Pfaff, who lives in Germany, had said that she, too, would not be able to attend the ceremony, having received the invitation on short notice. Pfaff also said that she would want to meet the PM to discuss ‘the conditions and procedures’ for bringing back Netaji's remains to India from Renkoji Temple in Japan.