Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided not to attend the oath-taking ceremonies of Parkash Singh Badal and Akhilesh Yadav as Chief Ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, Trinamool Congress said on Sunday.
Banerjee has decided to depute her emissaries to attend the oath-taking ceremonies, reports said.
"I just spoke to Mamatadi. She was keen to make the trip to Chandigarh and Lucknow but now she will be in West Bengal on the opening day of the Assembly for the Governor's address," tweeted Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O' Brien.
Earlier in the day, Congress virtually told Banerjee not to cross the “Laxman rekha” of “coalition dharma”, reminding the Trinamool chief that any interaction with NDA allies "beyond the normal boundaries of social courtesy, will become immoral".
"Social interactions with strangers by those in partnerships is permissible, but obviously if things go beyond the normal boundaries of social courtesy, it would become immoral", party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy said it is a parliamentary convention that Chief Minister should remain present in the House during the Governor's speech on the opening day of the Assembly session.
The Budget session of the state Assembly is scheduled to begin on March 15.
Both O' Brien and Roy, however, declined to comment on Singhvi's caution against Banerjee.
Mamata was invited to the swearing-in ceremonies of Parkash Singh Badal on March 14 and Akhilesh Yadav on March 15.
The Trinamool Congress chief had yesterday said, “I will try to attend the swearing-in ceremonies of Badal and Yadav.”
First Published: Sunday, March 11, 2012, 14:50