Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Dum Dum Metro project inauguration on August 22, sources confirmed to TV9 Bangla. Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had formally invited her to the event. However, she declined the invite.

Dum Dum Metro project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open three new routes of the Kolkata Metro later this month. The invitation sent to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee goes beyond ceremony, as it carries project estimates and details of railway funding in West Bengal.

The Green, Orange, and Yellow lines are all set to roll out on the same day, a rare move expected to ease traffic and tighten the city’s transport network. The political buzz is less about the tracks and more about who will be on stage with PM Modi. CM Banerjee’s refusal has stirred the hornet’s nest, sparking intense chatter in the political circles.

Political backdrop

Mamata Banerjee’s decision not to attend PM Modi’s event has already set tongues wagging. TMC leaders have recently raised the issue of Bengali workers being harassed outside the state, and the party has pitched it as a matter of identity and pride. Analysts say skipping the event fits into that positioning. The party has argued that workers have faced harassment for speaking their mother tongue and even attempts to push them back, a matter it has taken to Parliament.

Past grievances

Close aides also point to a previous official event at Nazrul Mancha, where Banerjee shared a stage with Modi. At the time, she expressed dissatisfaction over the behaviour of the BJP supporters present. Against this backdrop, and her current positioning as a defender of Bengali pride and identity, she has decided not to share the platform with PM Modi.