PM Modi to launch Rs 5,200 cr projects in Kolkata; Mamata to skip event

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal on Friday (August 22) to unveil Rs 5,200 crore worth of infrastructure projects, including three crucial metro stretches, and address a public rally.

The Prime Minister will arrive in Kolkata from Bihar and inaugurate the new Kolkata Metro stretches before addressing a party rally, a senior BJP leader said.

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Modi's Bengal visit

The tour comes amid a simmering row over a constitutional amendment bill pertaining to the removal of the prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers after arrest on serious criminal charges.

TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has branded the proposed law as "autocratic", a step "more than a super-Emergency" that will "finish" the independence of the judiciary.

"I am eager to be among BJP Bengal Karyakartas at a rally in Kolkata. With each passing day, public anger against the TMC is increasing. West Bengal is eagerly looking towards the BJP with hope because of our development agenda," Narendra Modi posted on X on Thursday (August 21).

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Kolkata metro expansion

In another post, the Prime Minister said, "It is always a delight to be among the people of Kolkata, a city whose development we are greatly committed to. Tomorrow's programmes in the city are mainly focussed on connectivity. The metro services which will be flagged off include Noapara-Jai Hind Bimanbandar, Sealdah-Esplanade, and Beleghata-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay routes. Connectivity to and from the airport as well as the IT hub areas will be enhanced."

PM Modi will inaugurate a 13.61 km-long metro network in Kolkata, marking the first time in 41 years that the city's metro services will directly connect the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport with the rest of the city.

Kolkata is set for a historic leap in public transport with these three new metro stretches rolling out, which will drastically slash travel time, including cutting a 50-minute road journey to 11 minutes and the airport commute to just 30 minutes.

In addition, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of a 7.2 km six-lane elevated Kona Expressway project worth over Rs 1,200 crore. The expressway is expected to significantly cut travel time between Howrah, surrounding rural areas, and Kolkata, providing a major boost to trade, commerce, and tourism.

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Mamata to skip event

The chief minister has decided to skip the inauguration of the three new Kolkata Metro stretches that the Prime Minister will unveil.

"The decision was taken in the backdrop of harassment faced by migrants from West Bengal in several BJP-ruled states," a senior TMC leader said.

Against this backdrop, the BJP expects the Prime Minister to use his West Bengal visit to sharpen the party's counter-narrative — projecting development and infrastructure growth in contrast to what it calls the TMC's "politics of appeasement and identity mobilisation".

Mamata and her party have in recent weeks accused BJP-ruled states such as Assam, Odisha, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat of detaining and profiling Bengali-speaking migrants, alleging that they are being branded as "illegal Bangladeshis".

(With agency inputs)