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Drama at PM's event, Mamata refuses to go on dais

Last updated on: December 30, 2022 13:42 IST

High drama prevailed at Howrah Station on Friday as a visibly annoyed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to get up on the dais from where the Vande Bharat express to New Jalpaiguri will be flagged off.

IMAGE: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee speaks with State Governor C V Ananda Bose as Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw looks on, during the flagging off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express, at Howrah railway station in Kolkata, on Friday, December 30, 2022. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo

Banerjee seemed upset by the loud sloganeering from a section of the invited crowd at the railway station.

 

Attempts by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Governor C V Ananda Bose to pacify her did not bear fruit, as the chief minister chose to seat on a chair along with the audience.

The Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri, the gateway to the northeast, as well as several development projects, will be virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

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