PM Narendra Modi walks up to Mamata Banerjee for a chat

NEW DELHI: Soon after the swearing-in of President Kovind, PM Narendra Modi walked up to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, seated in the last rows of the packed Central Hall, and started a conversation.

The exchange came at a time when Mamata has been accusing the Centre of not cooperating with the state, and Trinamool and BJP cadres in West Bengal are engaged in a bitter turf war as the saffron party seeks to expand its footprint in Bengal.

Modi spoke to Mamata for a few minutes, during which the two discussed the flood situation in West Bengal and also in Gujarat, besides the unrest in Darjeeling, sources said. Mamata later told reporters that the PM had asked her to apprise home minister Rajnath Singh of the situation in Darjeeling.