Bhubaneswar: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik last week called for an urgent need to protect the country’s federal structure after a meeting at Patnaik’s residence. The meeting, which lasted for about 40 minutes, came a few days after Banerjee called upon another opposition leader, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, in Kolkata.
Their meeting, and subsequent statements by their parties to remain equidistant from both Congress and BJP, had triggered intense speculation of a possible non-Congress front taking on BJP in the 2024 general elections. Banerjee is also scheduled to meet former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy at her residence in Kalighat.
After the meeting, however, both Banerjee and Patnaik denied that they had a serious political discussion. “There was no in-depth discussion on any serious political matter. We just said the federal structure in India should remain strong and permanent,” Patnaik said. Banerjee seconded his view. “I fully support and appreciate Naveen ji’s stand that our country’s federal structure should remain strong and unharmed. The federal structure should be strengthened. We discussed the nation’s safety and protection of democratic rights,” Banerjee said after the meeting at Naveen Niwas.