New Delhi: A controversy erupted earlier today over the scheduled inauguration of the Sealdah Metro station of the East-West corridor in Kolkata on Monday (July 11, 2022) with the TMC claiming that Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has not been invited to the railway ministry programme. However, hours later, a source from the rail, informed Zee News that the Chief Minister is being invited to the inauguration ceremony now.
“The Chief Minister, MP Sudip Banerjee is being invited. MP Prasoon Banerjee and MLA Nayana Banerjee are being invited. The governor and the mayor will also be invited,” the source informed.
The Metro from Sealdah to Sector 5 will be inaugurated on Monday, July 11. Although, passengers will not be able to use the metro from tomorrow. They will have to wait another three days. Authorities say the metro will run on the route from Thursday, July 14.
However, political pressure has started around the inauguration of the Metro. Trinamool claims that this metro project was started when Mamata Banerjee was the Railway Minister.
Earlier, coming down heavily on the BJP-led Centre, West Bengal minister and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim alleged that the central government had “no regard for democratic principles”.
“The East-West Metro project is being implemented with the mutual cooperation of the state and Centre. The move to leave out the chief minister stemmed from narrow political considerations,” he said.
Slamming the TMC over the assertion, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh told reporters, “None of our MLAs and MPs gets invited to any state functions including administrative meetings. The CM, too, should not complain for not getting an invitation.”
Ghosh further claimed that the state government, after using central funds, “renames central projects to avoid giving credit to the Narendra Modi government”.
Responding to Ghosh’s comments, Hakim said, “The Centre does not give alms to Bengal. The state has every right to ask what it is entitled to.”
(With agency inputs)