Controversy Over Not Having CM’s Name On Card

Apart from the Bengal Chief Minister, the Kolkata Metro authorities on Monday tried to cover up a controversy by sending invitations to several members of the ruling party, including the Minister of Municipality and Transport, on Monday. The tug-of-war continued with the achievement of project implementation.

On Monday, a letter from the Metro Authority sent to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Municipality and Transport Minister Firhad Hakim and other members of the ruling party came to light which revealed that the names of the CM and municipality minister were not there. Instead, the name of Union Minister Smriti Irani was shining in the invitation letter issued in the name of the Deputy General Manager of Metro Rail. Local Trinamool MLA Paresh Pal and MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay have been named in the invitation letter saying she will inaugurate the project.

Various banners written about the same statement were also seen at Sealdah station on this day. Even the name plate of the station which was inaugurated by removing the cover does not mention the names of the state office bearers. This begs the question, did the Metro authorities plan to hold the event without the state administration officials? In order to stop the controversy at the very last moment, were invitations sent to the Chief Minister, Mayor and others to protect the rules?

CM's Name On Card

Words of the Mayor 

Speaking at the inauguration of Howrah Municipal Corporation’s town hall, Firhad said, “The central government has insulted 100 million people in the state by omitting the name of the Chief Minister.” He sneered at the presence of local BJP leaders at the municipal corporation function, alleging that this is the culture of the BJP. They have no culture.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh tweeted, “What did Metro rail think? Leaving a card, the night before and inviting the CM? We do not want separatists’ donation. These metros are the contributions of Mamata Banerjee. “

Irani’s comment 

The Chief Minister visited North Bengal this afternoon. None of the invited MPs and MLAs of the ruling party, including the mayor, attended the function. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was also absent from the function. Irani said, “I also came after receiving an invitation in a short time. If such a large-scale infrastructure project is created after a long time, everyone should be involved. Local MPs and MLAs have been invited. The chief secretary of the state or the minister-secretary of the department could not be reached for a meeting today to discuss the progress of the work of the department. I have had meetings with many junior officers. But, I didn’t go to tell anyone. “ 

She spoke about the contribution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in implementing the project. On the other hand, the Left Party has slammed both the Trinamool and the BJP, saying that the project was laid in 2009 during the tenure of the then Chief Minister of the state, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. At that time, Manmohan Singh’s UPA-1 government was at the center.