Mamata's London visit with large delegation reflects 'negativity':BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's six-day visit to the United Kingdom with a large delegation reflects ' negativity', as 49 percent of dearness allowance to the employees awaits payment by the Bengal Government which is spending a lot of money on the Chief Minister's foreign tour.

"Social media has become a sort of a mirror image of what the people around are actually thinking. So if there is smoke, there must be some fire. So the fact that so much money is actually going to be spent on foreign tours while 49 percent dearness allowance lies unpaid to the employees, I feel that the smoke and the negativity that is flying around in the air obviously talks about that fire of disappointment that is happening with the people here and the mathematics and the logistics of West Bengal as such do not say anything positive about the foreign tours," BJP leader Babul Supriyo told the media here.

"I wish her all the very best but given the results that have come out on paper from her previous foreign trips do not paint a very exciting picture. I think a 100-member delegation is a little too heavy a delegation to go all the way to London. A lot of money is being spent on it. I would refrain from using the word 'wasted', because if something good comes out for West Bengal, then it is going to be good for all of us," he added.

Banerjee will leave for London, beginning tomorrow, for five days.

Ten musicians and an actor-cum-MP are accompanying West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her maiden London trip to attract investment. The list includes vocalist Rashid Khan, harmonium maestro Jyoti Goho, tabla exponent Bickram Ghosh and actor-politician Deepak Adhikari (Dev).

More than 40 industrialists and nearly 20 media personnel are also accompanying the Chief Minister.

Dozens of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed between the British departments and the West Bengal government in the fields of health, urban planning, transportation, exploration of natural resources, education and trade.