By Soumitra Nandi
Kolkata: Union science and technology and Earth Science minister Harshvardhan on Friday showered praise on the Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The Union cabinet minister said at a programme at Indian Association for the Cultivation of  Science(IACS) in Jadavpur on Friday,” Mamata Banerjee is dynamic and a fighter.” 

 “The whole country knows she is a fighter and the way she fought her way up to that position in which she is and she certainly has some good qualities which should be appreciated but we should not get into politics in everything.” Said Harshvardhan.

"After all we are all working for the people and inspite of the fact that we are working for different political parties we should not cross the laxman rekhas (limits)," he said.

He further asserted, "I am a strong BJP man and I would always... 1000 times... say that BJP should grow here... that BJP should be in power here one day and I am sure that will happen one day. When that will happen I don`t know, but we are striving to have it as early as possible. 

The minister said he would pay a "courtesy" call to the chief minister during his stay in Kolkata.

Harshvardhan said he would take up some issues regarding extension of the IACS campus on a 30-acre plot in Baruipur in the suburbs of Kolkata. 

"There is a genuine need for this institute to grow not only terms of its quality of research but also its geographical boundaries. Some processes are already on but there are some bottlenecks. I have requested an appointment with the CM and if I get a chance I will request her personally also to pay a little more attention to this institute and some of the related issues," he said.