A high drama prevailed at Howrah Station today 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. When Banerjee arrived for the event, a section of the crowd allegedly started chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'. Banerjee seemed upset by the loud sloganeering. 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. Though Banerjee maintained the dignity of the program as she expressed her condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who attended the program virtually despite losing his mother this morning. "Respected PM, today is a sad day for you personally and it's a great loss of your personal life. I pray to God, may God give you strength and bless you so that you can love your mother with your action and activities. I convey my gratitude to you because you were supposed to come to West Bengal but because of the sad demise of your mother you couldn`t come but have joined us virtually," said Banerjee to PM Modi. The Chief Minister also requested PM Modi to cut short the programme and to take rest as he had just come from the cremation of his mother. The Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri, the gateway to the northeast, as well as several development projects, was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Later, after a metro rail ride, Railway minister Vaishaw downplayed the incident while speaking with newspersons at Taratala and said the chief minister had been invited with "aadar" (affection) and "samman" (respect). He said, "aise koi baat nahi hui ke naraaz hone ki baat ho. Karyakarta naare lagate hai (Nothing occurred to cause any angst. Workers often mouth slogans)".
