West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she would she would not attend the inauguration of a Netaji statue in Delhi as the invitation was ‘not proper’.
Banerjee said she received a letter yesterday from a bureaucrat informing her about today's event, according to the NDTV report.
"I got a letter yesterday from a 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. How can an undersecretary write to a Chief Minister? Why has the culture minister become so big," the report quoted Banerjee as having said.
"That's why I garlanded the Netaji statue here in the afternoon today to offer my respects," she added.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a 28-foot statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose near India Gate and a refurbished Central Vista with the Rajpath road renamed as ‘Kartvavya Path’.
Meanwhile, Banerjee slammed the Centre for not inviting her to be a part of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ongoing visit to India.
Banerjee also said she was curious over why the BJP-led central government was “worried” about her meeting Hasina.
"I share an excellent relationship with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, but (the Centre) did not invite me to be a part of her visit," she said 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 want to know why is the Union government so worried about me meeting foreign dignitaries," Banerjee said.
Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a four-day tour to expand overall ties between the two countries.
(With PTI inputs)
