In a bid to protest against the violence in West Bengal allegedly carried out by the Left Front and the Congress, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she will boycott the Opposition meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on January 13.
'I have decided to boycott the meeting convened by Sonia Gandhi on January 13 in New Delhi as I don't support the violence that the Left and Congress unleashed in West Bengal yesterday (Wednesday),' the chief minister said at the state Assembly.
The 24-hour nationwide strike by central trade unions in West Bengal on Wednesday was marked by incidents of violence and arson, blocking of railway tracks and roads by protesters trying to enforce the shutdown.
Banerjee said 'double standards' of the Left Front and Congress will not be tolerated.
The chief minister had earlier expressed displeasure over calls of bandh against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA).
On Monday, Banerjee said though she backs protests against the CAA, she will not support any bandh for the cause.
Banerjee, speaking at an administrative meeting in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district, observed that she supports the cause (protest against CAA, NPR and NRC) but will not back any bandh, which she said causes trouble to people and loss to the exchequer.
Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of Opposition parties, including the Left, to discuss the situation arising out of violence on various university campuses and protests in the country over the CAA.