Pranab praise for CM

Pranab Mukherjee with Trinamul MP Abhishek Banerjee at Vidyanagar College

TT, Jan. 6: President Pranab Mukherjee today praised chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her "emphasis" on improvement in education, health and infrastructure.

Mukherjee inaugurated the administrative building, an auditorium and a gym at Vidyanagar College in Bishnupur, South 24-Parganas. He had taught political science at the college from 1963 to 1968.

"The chief minister has laid emphasis on three subjects - education, health and infrastructure. This is laudable," Mukherjee said.

Referring to his five-year stint at the college as a teacher, Mukherjee said: "I am very happy to come here today. I am thrilled and am feeling nostalgic. However, most of my colleagues are no more. Only three of us are left."

The President said that when the college was set up, there were 60 to 65 students and seven teachers.

Mukherjee said: "I had committed help to the college for the development of its infrastructure and had requested the Centre to provide funds."

Later in the day, Mukherjee attended the 200th birth anniversary celebrations of Pandit Madanmohan Tarkalankar, a 19th century poet and Sanskrit scholar, in Nadia.

The programme was organised at Billwagram village in Nakashipara, where Mukherjee had spent a few years of his childhood.