PM set to flag off 3 metro lines in Kolkata, TMC calls it 'poll stunt'

Railway minister wrote to the CM, but her party alleged the PM’s ceremony was timed for votes ahead of assembly elections.

Kolkata, Aug 17 (PTI) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw invited West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to the inauguration of three metro projects in Kolkata on August 22.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Sealdah-Esplanade section of the Green Line, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby Crossing)-Beleghata section of the Orange Line, and Noapara- Jai Hind Bimanbandar (airport) section of the Yellow Line.

"We kindly invite you to grace the occasion at Jessore Road metro station for the above programme," Vaishnaw said in the letter dated August 14.

The chief minister or the state government is yet to confirm whether she will attend the programme.

However, the TMC questioned the timing of the inauguration, claiming that the long-pending projects were being opened with an eye on the assembly elections due early next year.

The state BJP dismissed the charge, blaming the state government for the delay in the completion of the metro projects.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said, "43 railway projects in Bengal, including the East-West Metro (Green Line), have been delayed due to land acquisition problems and lack of cooperation from the state government."

"The construction of the Orange Line at Chingrighata has been stalled for a long time because of this. Otherwise, it would have been connected to Salt Lake Sector 5," he said.

Bhattacharya said the CM's presence at the inauguration programme "would be desirable".

With this inauguration, the Green Line, touted as India's first underwater metro, will become fully operational, connecting Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector 5, and the Kolkata airport will get a metro link.