Smriti Irani becomes nostalgic while inaugurating Metro station in Kolkata

Union minister Smriti Irani became nostalgic on Monday while recollecting the memories of her maternal grandfather, as she inaugurated the Sealdah Metron station of the East-West Metro corridor.

She said that on this day, she remembers her maternal grandfather, Mr Bagchi, who hailed from a Bengali family.

"My maternal grandfather's house is at Salt Lake. Today the Metro line will pass through Salt Lake and its inauguration is being done by me," she said.

Smriti Irani's mother, Shibani Bagchi, hails from Kolkata.

The East-West Metro will connect Howrah to Salt Lake via Sealdah. Initially, the first stretch connecting Sealdah with Salt Lake will start operating from July 14. At a later stage, the stretch connecting Howrah with Sealdah will start its operations.

Although Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was invited for the inauguration ceremony at the last moment, she could not attend the event as by that time she was already in North Bengal for a three-day tour.

The Trinamool Congress, however, alleged that the inaugural function was deliberately kept on Monday since the Chief Minister's schedule for North Bengal was decided much before.

The party leaders also claimed that the last moment invitation was an insult to the Chief Minister.

Speaking on the occasion, Irani said that the Union government is always alert about the development of West Bengal.

"The government has already provided Rs 8,000 crore for the development of women and children of the state. About 72 lakh people in West Bengal have been benefited by the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. About 3,665 km of new roads have been constructed in Bengal till 2021," she said.

--IANS

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