Mamata to skip meeting of presidents of political parties

Indicating that she would skip the meeting of presidents of all political parties convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to the Centre saying it should not go about "hurriedly" on a "sensitive and serious subject" like "one country and one election".

In a letter to Union Parliamentary Affair Minister Pralhad Joshi, who formally invited her to the meeting, Banerjee demanded that a white paper be circulated among all the political parties giving them "adequate time" to give their views on "one country and one election".

Banerjee also opposed development of "Aspirational Districts", arguing it would not conform to the objective of achieving a balanced and uniform development of all the districts.