Before UK Visit, Mamata Banerjee Assigns Confidantes Responsibility For Trinamool, Govt

(MENAFN- IANS) Kolkata, March 20 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday assigned her select party leaders responsibilities for managing the affairs of the state government and Trinamool congress during her visit to the United Kingdom.

Speaking to the newspersons here, the Chief Minister said during her absence, the state government's affairs will be managed by a five-member task force of her cabinet.

The task force includes West Bengal Minister of State in charge of finance (independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya, state Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, state Power Minister Arup Biswas, state Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Sashi Panja and the state Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose.

During that time, the affairs of Trinamool Congress will be handled by the party general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee and the party's state president Subrata Bakshi, she said.

The Chief Minister said that even during her United Kingdom visit, she will be available on her mobile phone in case of any emergency.

"Chief Secretary Manoj Pant is also going along with me, and he will also be available on his mobile phone," the Chief Minister said.

However, she refused to make any direct comment on the Nagpur violence, saying that opposition leaders in Maharashtra like Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray would be better persons to comment on this issue.

"All I can say is that I never believe in violence. I never resorted to communal instigation. The impact of the Babri mosque demolition could be felt in West Bengal. But then I went to the state secretariat and asked the administration whether they would need any cooperation from my end. But since the violence occurred in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray are better persons to give reactions in the matter," the Chief Minister said.

During her visit, the Chief Minister will deliver a lecture at a college affiliated with Oxford University. She is also supposed to attend some business meetings where she is expected to scout investments for the state.

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