In this instance, the entire controversy could have been avoided. A seething Prime Minister, who made the effort to conduct a meeting in Bengal to discuss cyclone relief, not ‘receiving’ the respect his office deserved, a Chief Minister now saying she could “even touch his feet for the people of Bengal”.
In the interests of the state, would it have been such a challenge to have attended the meeting with Modi and altered her previous plans, to proceed to Digha to supervise relief work, by a few minutes?
In the neighbouring Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, also from an Opposition party, fully understands that if a state has to progress, it must work in tandem with the Centre.
While TMC supporters would like to believe that ‘hell hath no fury like a BJP scorned’, Didi too should shed her petulance and fine-tune her brand of politics; she should respect her overwhelming mandate and show the maturity of a third-time Chief Minister.
Only then can Bengal see a better…