New Delhi:
Mamata Banerjee has announced that she will be sworn in on Friday in Kolkata as West Bengal's Chief Minister. "Friday is a good day," she said.
She met with the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi in Delhi to invite them to attend the ceremony. However, the Prime Minister has told her that his busy schedule with foreign tours will prevent him from being there.
Ms Banerjee, who is currently Railways Minister, has told the Prime Minister that she would like another member of her party to get the Railways portfolio. "He's a good man" she said, adding, "I won't ask for more portfolios." Ms Banerjee said that Dr Manmohan Singh indicated that he will reshuffle his cabinet after he returns from his foreign tour.
Before meeting the PM, Ms Banerjee was seen smiling broadly as she handed over a bouquet of red roses to Mrs Gandhi. "I have always been very close to Rajiv Gandh's family... he was very fond of me," Ms Banerjee said when asked about Mrs Gandhi's warm welcome (she was seen putting her arm around Ms Banerjee's shoulder).
The Congress and Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress contested the elections together. Ms Banerjee's call for 'poribartan' or change revolutionised her home state, with voters turning out in landmark numbers to end the three-decade-long Left hold over Bengal.
Ms Banerjee has also invited the Congress to participate in her government in Bengal.