Scottish minister keeps Mayor waiting, meets CM instead

Kolkata: British Minister for Scottish Affairs Ann Mckechin, who was schedule to visit the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to meet Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya on Friday, chose to meet Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee instead and kept the Mayor waiting with all his elaborate arrangements to welcome the minister.
However, after meeting Bhattacharjee, Mckechin appeared to be excited about various projects that funded by UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
“The progress of all projects funded by the DFID, including the slum development, health, malnutrition and e-governance is satisfactory. The chief minister has briefed me about them. A centre of excellence in the city is on the cards,” said Mckechin.
“I want more Indian students to opt for higher studies in Scotland. We are also working to strengthen the trade relations between the two countries. We have planned to attract more middle class tourists to Scotland by including it in the tour package for the United Kingdom,” added Mckechin.Meanwhile, a visibly disappointed Bhattacharya, who had ordered to decorate the KMC premises with flowers, said: “We had made arrangements to welcome her as we were told that she would be coming to meet me. We kept on waiting but she did not turn up. We were not even informed about the change in her plans.”