High drama prevailed at Howrah Station on Friday during the inauguration of the Vande Bharat Express to NJP. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee denied to get up on the stage as people belonging to BJP political party started chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as CM arrived. PM Modi, who was scheduled to reach Howrah for the ceremony, virtually inaugurated the express train after the demise of his mother Heeraben.
Workers started pulling out the parts of the dais after PM Modi called off his arrival. Banerjee chose to sit on a chair along with the audience during the ceremony. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tried to quell the anger of CM Mamata Banerjee.
Banerjee, while talking in the event, express condolences over the demise of Modi’s mother Hiraben. “Your mother is also our mother,” she told. The Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and NJP, the gateway to the northeast, at Howrah station on Friday. The blue-and-white coloured train, which completes a distance of 564 km in 7.45 hrs, will save three hours of travel time compared to other trains on the route.
