New Delhi, May 20 (IANS): Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said that when the country needs to speak in one voice, the act of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a meeting of district magistrates with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is deeply regrettable and condemnable.

It is learnt that Banerjee did not allow the district magistrate of North 24 Parganas to speak at the meeting. The BJP claimed that Banerjee said she will speak but Banerjee said she was insulted as a Chief Minister. No other Chief Minister spoke at the meeting, only district magistrates were asked to share the best practices adopted by them to contain the Covid pandemic.

Prasad alleged that Mamata Banerjee tried to derail the meeting. "Not attending a meeting is your call, but coming in and derailing the meeting is very unfair. Something good could have emerged for the state of West Bengal in the meeting. Today's behaviour of Mamata ji is deeply regrettable and condemnable," Prasad said.

He said that the meeting was called to know the best practices adopted by the district magistrates of a few states including West Bengal. "She disrupted the meeting. She did not allow the district magistrate (DM) of North 24 Parganas to speak. She is completely wrong about her claims that DMs of only BJP ruled states were called because DMs from Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and other states were called for the meeting," he said.

Prasad asked what is the harm if the Prime Minister wants to know the best practices adopted by the DMs and which can be replicated elsewhere in the country. "Her behaviour is shameful, condemnable and least expected from a Chief Minister of a big state in a meeting called by the Prime Minister," he said.

Taking a dig at Banerjee, Prasad said that nothing better can be expected from Mamata ji as she rarely attends a meeting called by the Prime Minister.