West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday set up a five-member task force to manage state affairs in her absence as she prepared to leave for London.

The team comprising acting director-general of police Rajeev Kumar, state Home secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Commissioner of Kolkata Police Manoj Verma, Vivek Kumar, additional chief secretary (land), and finance secretary Prabhat Misra will oversee key administrative functions.

A group of senior ministers, including Chandrima Bhattacharya, Shashi Panja, Sujit Bose, Arup Biswas, and Firhad Hakim, will coordinate with bureaucrats to ensure the smooth running of the government.

Banerjee said they would remain in contact with her throughout her trip.

Senior party leaders Subrata Bakshi and Abhishek Banerjee have been entrusted with political decision-making in her absence.

‘Bengal is India’s cultural capital’

Speaking at a press conference, Banerjee hit out at her critics, accusing them of attempting to tarnish Bengal’s image on the global stage.

"When we visited Singapore, a false narrative was spread about us, as if ‘Bangla’ itself carried a negative connotation.

People need to realise that if Maharashtra is India's financial capital, Bengal is its cultural heartland," she said.

She also alleged that political opponents had circulated defamatory emails about her government.

"These messages have reached us from abroad as well. Do our adversaries think we have no connections outside India? Maligning Bengal’s reputation will not be tolerated. You can insult me if you wish, but do not insult Mother Bengal," she warned.

Commenting on Mamata’s decision to set up a GoM and a task force, Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “According to sources, some anti-Bengal forces are planning to create disturbance during the London tour, especially the Oxford speech of Mamata Banerjee. They are jealous and politically vindictive.”

Ghosh accused a section of Left, ultra-Left and the BJP of working in cahoots to create disturbance in the state during Mamata’s absence.

“A section of Left, ultra-Left and BJP supporters, hiring other few, are very much in this conspiracy. The CM is responding to a prestigious invitation. And during that event they will try to insult Bengal, by spreading false allegations, total lies. According to some communication within themselves, they are trying to do 'something' for negative news related to Bengal. If they do such a conspiracy, people of Bengal will give them a proper reply in the next election,” Ghosh said.

‘No rigging in Bengal’

Banerjee dismissed allegations of electoral malpractice, insisting that Bengal’s elections are conducted under strict supervision.

"The voting process is monitored by the commissioner. There is no rigging—only mischief-makers trying to stoke unrest," she said.

She also accused left-wing, ultra left-wing factions and communal forces of working together against her government. "They may seem different, but they share the same agenda," she said.

Asserting that violence had no place in Bengal’s political landscape, she declared: “The only answer is the people’s verdict.”

The Trinamool Congress had announced on its official X handle, about Oxford University’s invite to Mamata on March 27 to speak on women’s empowerment. The announcement was derided by the Opposition as an invite from a college and not the prestigious centre of learning.

The leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had claimed, “Well it’s as genuine as her fake PhD degree from East Georgia University. The truth is that Mamata Banerjee will speak on ‘Social Development: Empowerment of Women and Children at the Kellogg College. Kellogg College is one of the affiliated colleges of Oxford University, just like 35 others.”

Continuing with his attack on his former mentor turned rival, Adhikari said, “So labelling one college event as the University Event is not only an exaggeration but a PR campaign to befool people.”

Just days ahead of her visited the chief minister had also received invitations from the London School of Economics (LSE) and Queen Mary University’s Mile End Institute.