What irked Mamata Banerjee at PM Modi's event?

Kolkata, Dec 30: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday was annoyed over a section of the invited crowd at the railway station chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans upon her arrival at an event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off the nation's seventh Vande Bharat Express.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Governor CV Ananda Bose tried to pacify her but their efforts went in vain as the West Bengal Chief Minister chose to sit in a chair in the audience instead, according to a PTI report.

The clip of the incident has been shared by news agency ANI on Twitter.

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)".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express, connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri via video conferencing today. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Joka-Taratala Stretch of the Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line). He also dedicated four railway projects to the nation including Boinchi - Shaktigarh 3rd Line, Dankuni - Chandanpur 4th Line Project, Nimtita - New Farakka Double Line and Ambari Falakata - New Maynaguri - Gumanihat Doubling Project. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the New Jalpaiguri Railway Station.

The Prime Minister attended the event virtually following the demise of his mother Heerabhen Modi.

Just before the inauguration, Mamata Banerjee said, "On behalf of the people of West Bengal, I thank you so much for giving us this opportunity. It's a sad day for you. Your mother means our mother also. May god give you the strength to continue your work, please take some rest."