Rare bonhomie: Amit Shah, Mamata face-to-face at Patnaik’s lunch

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who never fail to target each other over national and local issues, joined Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for lunch at his residence on Friday (February 28) afternoon.

The three leaders were also joined by Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. A photo of the five leaders was tweeted by Patnaik on Friday.

Such a pleasure having the company of Union Home Minister @AmitShah ji, my colleague CMs, @MamataOfficial, @NitishKumar ji & Union Minister @dpradhanbjp ji at Naveen Niwas. Had a wonderfully interactive time over some home cooked #Odia delicacies. pic.twitter.com/tmhfsJnDq2

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) February 28, 2020

In a tweet, Patnaik said, “Such a pleasure having the company of Union Home Minister @Amit Shah ji, my colleague CMs, @MamataOfficial, @NitishKumar ji & Union Minister @dpradhanbjp ji at Naveen Niwas. Had a wonderfully interactive time over some home cooked #Odia delicacies.”

The lunch, during which Shah and Banerjee sat facing each other across the table, was hosted by Patnaik after the Eastern Zonal Council meeting here. Sources said the lunch, during which traditional Odia delicacies were served, was hosted in the honour of Union Home Minister and the two chief ministers.

While there was no official word on what was talked about during the meal, the picture of Shah and Mamata sharing a lunch led to talks in the political circles about a possible scale down in their attacks on each other.

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Jharkhand Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon, who represented the state in the meeting in the absence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, did not join them.

“I joined the lunch together with respected Home Minister, respected Naveenji and respected Nitishji,” said Banerjee.

Shah is set to address a rally in Kolkata at the Shaheed Minar Ground on March 1. This would be his second visit to the city after assuming the office of the Union home minister, the first one being in last October.

(With inputs from agencies)