Mamata may skip event where Modi will unveil new Metro routes
Times of India | 19 August 2025
Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is unlikely to attend the inauguration ceremony of the three Metro routes in Dum Dum on Aug 22, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to cut the ribbon. Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier invited Banerjee to the occasion.
Speaking to reporters, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "From what we understand, the chief minister will not attend the programme. The first reason is CM Banerjee, during her tenure as the Union railway minister, not only finalised these projects but also allocated funds for them. However, these were delayed. Now, with elections close, they want to use their nameplates for political reasons. These delays should not have happened in the first place.
""The other reason is that such events always turn political. BJP has no control over its workers who attend these programmes. They lose context and do everything that should not be done or said. In the past, even a programme on Netaji was used by BJP workers to do politics in the presence of their leaders," Ghosh added.
"The third reason is that CM Banerjee is leading the fight against the illegal acts by the Centre and the states governed by BJP in harassing Bengali-speaking migrants and attacking the Bengali language. People are being jailed randomly, and worse, being sent to Bangladesh only for speaking Bengali. The CM is unlikely to share the stage with them.