West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee became the first female Indian politician to receive the Oxford Union's debate invitation.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee became the first female Indian politician to receive the Oxford Union's debate invitation.Banerjee received an invitation letter from Beatrice Barr, president of St. Peter's College, Oxford, on July 6, 2020, to participate in the Union debate. Due to the extreme situation of COVID-19, the Union is conducting the debate online. Banerjee was to participate in the first debate meeting of the virtual Oxford Union. Earlier, the invitation was extended to Banerjee once in 2016. It is reported that Banerjee would be speaking about the schemes of the state government like Kanyashree, Rupasree, Krishak Bandhu, and Duare Bangla.
From India, politicians Salman Khurshid, Baijayant Panda, and Dr. Shashi Tharoor had participated in the debate. None of the female political leaders have attended the debate from India so far. The address was to be held virtually on Dec. 2, 2020, at 5:00 pm. The Oxford Union Debating Society postponed Banerjee's scheduled virtual address citing some unforeseen problems and sought re-scheduling of the program. Mamata's talk would have been the first by an Indian woman chief minister at the event.
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