Pranab Mukherjee visits Mamata Banerjee's mother in hospital

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday visited the ailing mother of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the SSKM hospital in Kolkata.

Mukherjee, who arrived at the hospital around 1:20 pm straight from the airport, visited 81-year-old Gayatri Banerjee at the state-run hospital's Woodburn Ward.

During his visit which lasted for about 10 minutes, Mukherjee spoke to attending doctors and enquired about Gayatri Banerjee's health.

The Chief Minister was at the secretariat during Mukherjee's visit to the hospital.

After the visit, Mukherjee went to his Dhakuria residence. He is scheduled to leave for Delhi in the evening.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a telephonic talk with the Chief Minister yesterday during which he enquired about her mother's health and discussed the issue of FDI in retail.

Banerjee said that during her conversation, she told the Prime Minister that she did not want the government at the Centre to topple on the FDI issue, but at the same time, it was not possible for her party to support the entry of FDI in the retail sector.