Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury objects WB's first Vande Bharat Express to be launched at the hands of PM Modi
"A Prime Minister should not inaugurate Vande Bharat train when there is already a Railway minister," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
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Kolkata, Dec 30: West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday raised questions on the launch of the Vande Bharat Express train by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said that the train should be inaugurated by the railway minister.
"A Prime Minister should not inaugurate Vande Bharat train when there is already a Railway minister," he said. Chowdhury's statement comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to West Bengal on Friday (Dec 30). PM Modi was scheduled to visit West Bengal on Friday to flag off a Vande Bharat Express train connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri at Howrah Railway Station, as well as to inaugurate the Joka-Taratala stretch of the Purple Line of the Kolkata Metro Train. However, as PM Modi is in Gandhinagar to attend his mother's last rights, he will be attending the schedule events through video conferencing.
Chowdhury further accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to escape from the hands of the Crime Branch Investigation (CBI) before the panchayat elections. "She (Mamata Banerjee) is trying to escape from the hands of CBI, so she is coming in the name of railway inauguration on this pretext," said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
According to an official release, the 6.5-Km long Joka-Taratala stretch of the Kolkata metro, having six stations namely Joka, Thakurpukur, Sakher Bazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar and Taratala has been constructed at a cost of more than Rs 2475 Crore. Passengers of southern Kolkata like Sarsuna, Dakghar, Muchipara and South 24 Parganas will immensely benefit from this project's inauguration.