NEW DELHI: West Bengal leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Friday wrote to external affairs minister S Jaishankar urging him to prevent future foreign visits by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in her official capacity. Adhikari accused Banerjee of undermining India on the international stage and bringing shame to the country during her recent visit to the United Kingdom. In his letter, Adhikari claimed that Banerjee’s remarks in London displayed "devotion and admiration for the colonial masters," which he described as "unthinkable" for a Bengali.
He cited her speech at a business event in the UK, where she said, "I love UK because we have an emotional relation, historical relation...
From the heritage point of view, ours and from yours also. 190 years, you ruled in India. You ruled Bengal.
.. So we forget that? Always India remembers you, and Bengal also remembers you.
" Adhikari condemned her remarks, saying that Bengal had been at the forefront of the independence movement, resisting British rule. He said that praising the colonial past amounted to "public renunciation of the sacrifices made by our freedom movement revolutionaries." The letter also criticised Banerjee for her statements at Oxford University's Kellogg College, where she appeared to "downplay" India’s economic growth.
When a speaker highlighted that India had overtaken the UK as the world's fifth-largest economy and was projected to become the largest by 2060, Banerjee disagreed, saying, "I will dif.