Dharmendra Pradhan unhappy over Mamata Banerjee giving miss to PMUY launch

KOLKATA: Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan today expressed dismay at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee giving a miss to the launch of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) here.

"I am dismayed at the absence of Mamata Banerjee at the launch of PMUY, a programme which is meant for the poor," Pradhan said.

"I had personally sent an invitation to the Chief Minister through my officials. Ministers Jyotipriyo Mullick and Sovandeb Chatterjee were also invited. But none have come," he said.

The Union minister said he was like Banerjee's "younger brother. We are, may be, from different political parties. But politics should not come in the way of development."

"We went ahead with the programme on our own," he said.