In a significant act of political posturing, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Telangana counterpart, K Chandrashekhar Rao Monday ​remained absent from an inter-state council meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take stock of the ongoing operations against Naxals and the development initiatives being undertaken in Maoist-hit areas.
Chief ministers or their representatives and top police and civil officials of 10 Naxal-violence affected states were expected to attend the meeting a first of its kind after Shah assumed charge about three months ago.