Didi to skip all-party meet

Kolkata, June 18 

Indicating that she would skip the meeting of presidents of all political parties convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to the Centre saying it should not go about “hurriedly” on a “sensitive and serious subject” like ‘one nation, one election’.

In a letter to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, who formally invited her to the meeting, Banerjee demanded a white paper be circulated among all parties seeking their views by proving them “adequate time”. She also opposed development of ‘aspirational districts’, arguing it would not conform to the objective of achieving a balanced and uniform development of all districts.

“I have gone through the agenda of the meeting. In this context, I would like to mention that a proper response on such a sensitive and serious subject like the ‘one nation, one election’ in such a short time would not do justice to the subject it deserves. The matter requires consultations with constitutional experts, election experts and above all the party members.

“Instead of doing the matter hurriedly, I would request you to kindly circulate a white paper on the subject to all political parties inviting their views by providing adequate time. If you only do so, we will be able to give concrete suggestions on this important subject,” she said. The PM has convened the meeting of heads of all parties who have representation in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha to deliberate on a number of issues. —IANS