Kolkata, 22 August (H.S.): Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in Kolkata on Friday evening, the Trinamool Congress launched a sharp attack on the Centre and the BJP, asserting that the metro projects set to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister were originally sanctioned by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her tenure as Union Railway Minister (2009–2011).
TMC state general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh shared photographs on social media from Mamata Banerjee’s railway minister days, writing: “Some glimpses of Mamata Banerjee as Railway Minister… She gave Bengal new routes, lines, trains, stations, projects, and jobs with open hands. The projects being inaugurated by the Prime Minister today are all the result of her vision and approvals. After years of delay, the Prime Minister is now coming only for election propaganda. The people of Bengal know the real work was done by Mamata Banerjee.”
On Friday evening, Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth nearly ₹5,200 crore, including three new Kolkata Metro lines and an elevated corridor in Howrah. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Modi will flag off the Noapara–Jai Hind Airport Metro service from Jessore Road Metro Station. He will also inaugurate the Sealdah–Esplanade and Beliaghata–Hemanta Mukhopadhyay Metro services via video conferencing.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to take a ride on the Metro from Jessore Road to Jai Hind Airport station and inaugurate a newly constructed subway at Howrah Metro Station.
Although Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was formally invited by the Centre to attend the event, she declined. Sources in the state secretariat indicated that Banerjee’s decision stemmed from her displeasure during a previous joint appearance with the Prime Minister at Nazrul Mancha, where she was reportedly upset by the conduct of BJP workers and supporters. This, the sources said, prompted her to distance herself from Friday’s ceremony.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
