New Delhi: No objection was conveyed to the Australian Deputy High Commissioner on the basis of the principle of reciprocity to meet West Bengal government officials at an "appropriate" level, official sources said on Wednesday.

The clarification came after Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghosh accused the NDA government at the Center of not allowing the Australian Deputy High Commissioner to meet top Bengal ministers in Kolkata.

The Australian Deputy High Commissioner was briefed about the "principle of reciprocity" in a meeting with West Bengal government officials, a source said.

Explaining the principle of reciprocity, another source said that the rank of a state government minister is much higher in protocol than that of the deputy head of a foreign mission and this provision is followed while attending to any requests for meetings. Is.

The source suggested that the Deputy High Commissioner is very junior to the ministers and that is why the meetings sought by the diplomat were not in accordance with the prescribed norms.

Ghosh hit out at the Center over the issue and said the manner in which the meetings were refused raises questions on the federal structure of the country.

"Sending the recommendation through the Ministry of External Affairs is extremely shocking and autocratic," he said.

“This is an attack on the federal structure,” Ghosh alleged.