HD Kumaraswamy took oath as the Karnataka chief minister at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Wednesday and the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and West Bengal, along with AICC President Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, were invited.
The opposition heavyweights graced the ceremony to convey hearty wishes to HD Kumaraswamy on taking charge as new CM. One among the opposition parties who turned up at Kumaraswamy’s oath ceremony was West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who faced traffic issues.
The police did their best to divert traffic in many areas so that the leaders would get rid of traffic concerns while travelling to the ceremony. But, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reportedly ended up walking from High Point signal to the Vidhana Soudha. She was not really pleased with the way she was treated amid heavy traffic jam and all other VIP cars parked everywhere.
A video that was captured by ANI, signifies that West Bengal CM was seen complaining about the lack of suitable arrangements for her welcome. She was annoyed and expressed her disappointments towards Karnataka’s DG and IGP Neelamani Raju as she was seen reprimanding the state’s topmost police officer on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha.
Following the heated talk, she explained the same situation to former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar, who marked their presence for the ceremony. While going towards the seating area, Mamata Banerjee was once again seen complaining to the leaders who were present for the ceremony.
Mamata refused to sit down. Seeing this, Deve Gowda and other leaders calmed West Bengal CM down, it was only then things got back normal. Mamata went on to greet the VIPs on the dais and the audience at the venue.
HD Kumaraswamy was also seen conveying his apologies to Mamata Banerjee and issuing a warning to Neelamani. On Thursday, several news reports of Neelamani Raju being transferred by HD Kumaraswamy at the orders of Mamata Banerjee were published in the media, that had gone viral. However, when TNM contacted DG and IGP Neelamani, she said that she had not been transferred but had submitted a verbal report to CM Kumaraswamy.
Neelamani further added saying that she told CM Kumaraswamy that the confusion happened because AICC President Rahul Gandhi and the former Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi’s escort was moving at the same time Mamata Banerjee’s escort was also proceeding towards Vidhana Soudha.
“Since Rahul Gandhi’s convoy was already en route, CM Mamata Banerjee’s convoy was asked to wait for a few minutes until the convoy passed,” Neelamani said.
The state’s top-most cop told TNM that both convoys could not have passed at the same time and this is the main reason why the mix-up had happened. Denying the reports, HD Kumaraswamy, who addressed the media, said that he had received Neelamani’s verbal report and added that he has not issued orders for her transfer.
“I am only the CM-designate, not the CM until the floor test is over. I cannot make decisions about who should be transferred. Neelamani Raju has not been transferred now,” Kumaraswamy added.
However, sources in the Home Department informed TNM that post the floor test, several top police officials are likely to be transferred. “They are waiting for the trust vote to be over. At least 10 top police officers will be transferred within two weeks after the new government is formed,” the source added.
