MEA missive to Aus envoy sparks ‘federal terror’ cry from TMC

KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress has raised allegations of “federal terrorism” against Centre after MEA asked Australian deputy high commissioner Nicholas McCaffrey not to meet three Bengal ministers he had sought permission to meet, while saying he could, instead, meet two Trinamool MPs and two from the state BJP.
The meeting was to discuss bilateral trade.The state ministers who did not get MEA’s approval were Shashi Panja, Babul Supriyo and Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. The ones who were deemed okay were TMC MPs Derek O’Brien and Jawhar Sircar and BJP’s Sukanta Majumdar and Dilip Ghosh.
The Australian High Commission had sought permission from MEA as a matter of protocol.
“Govt of West Bengal received communication from the Australian High Commission that the deputy high commissioner would be visiting the state and he had sought meetings with three ministers,” Trinamool RS member Saket Gokhale told the press in Delhi. “Following this, there was communication from MEA’s Oceania division — the ministry does not recommend the Australian deputy high commissioner meet the three state ministers.... What problem does NDA govt have if a diplomat representing his country in India has a meeting with cabinet ministers in an Indian state?”
According to the email that reached Nabanna’s protocol division, Abhishek Bahuguna, section officer (Oceania division), MEA, says the ministry had “no objection from political angle” in the deputy high commissioner meeting the four (Derek O’Brien, Jawhar Sircar, Sukanta Majumdar and Dilip Ghosh), but it “does not recommend following meetings requested by the Australian side” naming the three ministers.
O’Brien took objection, saying, “Panja handles the industry portfolio, Supriyo is the state information technology minister, and Chattopadhyay handles the agriculture department. They are senior cabinet ministers in Bengal. This is unfathomable.”
“The MEA seems to have a double face when it comes to foreign relations of the country and states of India.... This has happened with Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, where, on several occasions, she has been invited to a foreign country to address a business summit or for a programme and the MEA has refused to give protocol clearance,” Gokhale said.
His Rajya Sabha colleague, Sagarika Ghose, said: “Banerjee was stopped three times from travelling abroad. This is a fundamental assault on the federal structure. The mandate is not for autocracy any more.”
Trinamool indicated the party would take up the issue with MEA and in Parliament. “This is federal terrorism,” Gokhale said, adding, “The issue will be discussed with other INDIA parties and raised in Parliament.”
McCaffrey’s scheduled meeting at CII in Kolkata on Wednesday has been postponed. The CII, in statement, said: “We would like to inform you that due to some unavoidable circumstances, the interactive session with Mr Nicholas McCaffrey, deputy high commissioner of Australia to India, has been postponed. We will inform you of the next possible date, as and when it gets finalised.”