Burnpur, May 10 (NDTV): A day after a bout of public sparring with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch for federalism while in Burnpur to inaugurate the country's largest blast furnace for steel production. The chemistry between the two leaders appeared intact, with Ms Banerjee, who had accompanied the PM, sounding upbeat too.

Declaring how proud he was that the nation was getting a modern steel unit, PM Modi said it would not have been possible without the cooperation of the state government.

"India won't change without a Team India. The Prime Minister and Chief Ministers are one Team that will take India ahead. The nation is bigger than any party," said PM Modi.

"The chief minister said a very good thing," he added. "The Centre and state, the more they work together, the more we will progress... The constitution has given federal structure, but there has always tension. The Centre thought it was special. I was a Chief Minister. I know. This attitude is not good."

In her address, Ms Banerjee had said, "When we work together, the country progresses. The federal and central structure will both remain."

Reminiscing, she said, "In '98, when the Trinamool Congress supported the NDA government, we had got a Bengal package. We had demanded modernisation of IISCO. Today it is done."

Yesterday, at the inauguration of three social schemes in Kolkata, Ms Banerjee had taken potshots at the Centre, saying 60 years after Independence, there were no banks in more than 1000 panchayats in Bengal. "How will these bank dependent schemes work?" she had asked.

The Prime Minister had turned it to his advantage, saying the Chief minister mentioned the point "in front of me, because she is confident that if anyone changes things, it will be me".

Later, the two leaders reportedly had an unscheduled one-on-one meeting.