New Delhi, Sep 20 (UNI) The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday outright rejected suggestion that the ministry is in 'confrontation' with the West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee vis-a-vis what was given out as her cancelled visits to China and Chicago.
"I am not aware of any such confrontation taking place...In fact, as we speak the Chief Minister of West Bengal and her delegation is in Germany..... Don't drag us wherever we are not," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters here.
There is "no question of confrontation" between the Ministry of External Affairs and the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
"The presence of the Chief Minister to attract investment in Germany is testimony to the fact that is what you are thinking is contradictory to facts," the MEA spokesman said.
Ms Banerjee has more than once sought to direct her ire against the Modi government and the Ministry of External Affairs for allegedly sabotaging her visit to Chicago and China.
In August, BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had challenged Trinamool Congress supremo to try penning poems on the violence during panchayat polls in West Bengal and not merely on her plans to visit abroad.
"Panchayat chunao mein hinsa kale dhabbey they....Mamataji ko us par bhi kavita likhna chahiye (Unprecedented violence during panchayat elections in Bengal was like black spot in democracy. She should pen poems on those violent incidents too)," Mr Prasad told reporters on August 7.
On September 13, Trinamool Congress supremo sought to attack the Centre saying that she could not visit Chicago to attend a Swami Vivekananda function due to 'unholy conspiracy' as the government 'denied' her the permission.
In response to reports in a section of the media regarding 'denial of permission' to Ms Banerjee, MEA spokesman Mr Kumar had said, "We did not receive any request for clearance regarding the visit of Mamata Banerjee to Chicago for the event. The reports about the denial of permission are, therefore, not true."
In August, there was a minor controversy related to Mamata Banerjee's 'cancelled China' trip when she had also penned a poem titled 'Untouchable' targeting the BJP-led regime for allegedly disallowing her visit to China and also on a cancelled 'invitation' from Delhi's St Stephen's College.
On Sunday, September 16, West Bengal Chief Minister along with Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Finance Secretary H K Dwivedi and Chief Secretary Malay Dey, left for Frankfurt and Milan on a 12-day trip to Germany and Italy to attract investments to the state.
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