West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has received formal invitations from two prestigious UK institutions — the London School of Economics (LSE) and Queen Mary University’s Mile End Institute — to engage in discussions with their academic communities during her upcoming visit to the United Kingdom. An official source confirmed the invitations on Monday.
Banerjee is scheduled to travel to London this week to deliver a lecture at Oxford University on March 27. Her travel plans received clearance from the central government last week, and she is expected to depart Kolkata this Friday.
The London School of Economics, in its letter, expressed interest in hosting Banerjee for a session focusing on social development, women’s empowerment, and governance, acknowledging the value of her insights for students and faculty alike. The LSE extended full support for organizing the event according to her availability and preferences.
Similarly, Dr. Sofia Collignon, Director of the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University, invited Banerjee to meet with UK-based academics and research scholars. Highlighting West Bengal’s globally recognized women-focused schemes, including the UN Public Service Award-winning ‘Kanyashree Prakalpa’, Collignon praised the state as a model for women-centric development. She noted that Trinamool Congress (TMC) holds the highest representation of women in Parliament from West Bengal, despite challenges of political polarization.
The letter also suggested that the visit would provide a platform for sharing ideas on replicating West Bengal’s successful welfare initiatives across India to empower women and girls further.
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Banerjee has also been invited to speak about her governance experience and developmental priorities at Oxford University. In a letter dated February 7, 2024, Jonathan Michie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, extended the invitation, stating that Banerjee’s perspectives would be valuable to the university’s academic audience. Michie attended the Bengal Global Business Summit in November 2023, further strengthening ties with the state.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised objections. Party IT Cell Head Amit Malviya claimed Banerjee’s scheduled talk is at Kellogg College, an affiliate of Oxford University, and not at the university’s main venue. Malviya accused her of misleading the public, referencing past controversies about her educational claims. He further demanded an apology and even called for Oxford University to bar her from future events.
In addition to her academic engagements, Banerjee may meet industrialists on March 25 to attract investment to West Bengal. She is set to return to Kolkata on March 29, marking her second official visit to the UK capital, the first being in November 2017, when she attended a business event in Edinburgh organized by the Scottish Development International.
