Mamata Banerjee skips event addressed by PM Modi

A day after she held a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the event of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) addressed by Modi on Sunday.

Earlier, Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya personally invited Mamata to attend the event of the 150th anniversary of KoPT.

The chief minister on Saturday shared the dais with Modi at a government program. However, she remained silent throughout the event and did not address the gathering.

The Left Front and the Congress have targeted Mamata for boycotting the meeting of Opposition parties in Delhi on January 13 even though she met the prime minister on Saturday.

However, Mamata described the meeting as her “Constitutional duty” and said that she urged the prime minister to withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Act.

During the day, protests continued in Kolkata against Modi's visit to the city.

Congress workers waved black flags and shouted “Go back Modi” when the prime minister’s convoy was about to enter Netaji Indoor Stadium for the KoPT event.

Police sources said that five Congress workers were detained for the protest.

At Esplanade in Central Kolkata, protesters who had started a sit-in demonstration on Saturday continued their agitation till Sunday afternoon when the prime minister left for Delhi.