Thirteen Trinamool Congress MLAs elected from north Bengal attended an administrative meeting on monsoon preparedness convened by the north Bengal development minister Nisith Pramanik at Uttarkanya, the state’s branch secretariat located on the outskirts of Siliguri, on Tuesday.

In north Bengal, Trinamool won 14 of 54 seats in the recent Assembly elections. The BJP bagged the remaining 40 seats.

Within a week’s time, it was the second major administrative meeting that was held in Uttarkanya. Earlier, on May 20, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had chaired a high-level administrative meeting with officials from five north Bengal districts during his first visit to the region after the BJP government was formed in the state.

On Tuesday, the meeting was called to check the preparedness of various state and central government departments as well as agencies ahead of the monsoon season.

Among the prominent Trinamool legislators present at the meeting were Md Ghulam Rabbani, Kanaialal Agarwala, Hamidul Rahaman, Sabina Yeasmin and Biplab Mitra.

Rabbani, the Trinamool MLA from Goalpokhor, said: “We were invited to the administrative meeting as MLAs, and we attended it. It is a positive initiative.”

Trinamool MLAs (from right) Kanaialal Agarwala, Hamidul Rahaman and Md Ghulam Rabbani at the meeting in Uttarkanya

Dismissing speculation over possible defections, Rabbani asserted that the MLAs remained committed to Trinamool.

“We got the mandate from the people as representatives of a particular party, and we will continue to work as MLAs of the same party,” he said.

On May 20, Sangeeta Roy, the Trinamool MLA from Sitai of Cooch Behar — the sole TMC MLA from five districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling and Kalimpong — was invited to the meeting. The MLA, however, couldn’t attend it as she was away in Delhi for family reasons.

On Monday, Roy was the only Trinamool MLA who did not attend the meeting.

Pramanik, while talking to newspersons after the meeting, said the BJP state government valued suggestions from elected representatives in the Opposition and believed in inclusive governance.

“The chief minister has given equal importance to elected representatives from the Opposition because, in a democracy, everyone has the right to express their views. Under his leadership, a ‘Ram Rajya’ has been established, and we want to work collectively for development by listening to all sides,” Pramanik said.

The meeting focused on disaster preparedness across the eight districts of north Bengal ahead of the approaching monsoon season. Officials from the districts, the state irrigation department, paramilitary forces, the National Disaster Response Force, and emergency services were also present.

Speaking specifically about the meeting, Pramanik, who also holds the portfolio of sports and youth affairs, said the discussions centred on flood prevention and disaster management planning for the region.

“The main objective of the meeting was to chalk out plans for preventive measures for floods and other natural calamities, as the monsoon is approaching in the region. There are certain issues like the proposal for the formation of a joint India-Bhutan river commission and representation of Bengal in the Brahmaputra Board for management of major rivers of the region, which will be taken up with the central government,” the minister said.

He stated that the state government would hold talks with neighbouring Sikkim for the prevention of floods caused by the Teesta.

“As there is a double-engine government in Bengal now, all possible preventive measures will be taken to prevent any devastation,” Pramanik added.