West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee showed great statesmanship as she praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the time to honour his commitment to inaugurate a slew of railway projects, including a new Vande Bharat Express train, despite the demise of his mother barely hours ago. However, the scenes at the Howrah station were far from the harmony that Mamata’s statement appeared to exude.

Unruly scenes were witnessed at the Howrah station before the PM virtually flagged off the new Vande Bharat Express. Mamata, who was present at the venue along with Union minister Ashwini Vaishnav and other leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was greeted by chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ by some members present in the crowd at the station.

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This left Mamata irked who could be seen complaining about the crowd’s behaviour to Governor CV Ananda Bose. Among those present at the event included Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and Union ministers Nisith Pramanik and John Barla, besides other prominent leaders. A fuming Mamata first contemplated leaving the event and then refused to take a seat at the dais. Instead, Mamata placed a chair adjacent to the dais and sat there along with the officials.

However, Mamata regained her composure as the Prime Minister appeared on the screen and thanked him for ensuring that the inauguration event went on as per schedule in spite of his mother passing away today morning. “Today is a sad day for you personally. It is a great loss of your personal life. May god give you strength and bless you so that you can love your mother…I convey my gratitude to you for being present here virtually as you could not come because of the sad demise of your mother. Please take rest and take care,” Mamata told the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister virtually launched West Bengal’s first Vande Bharat Express from Howrah station. He was scheduled to visit the state on December 30, but had to stay away from the event following the demise of his mother Hiraben Modi in Ahmedabad. PM Modi performed the last rites of his mother and attended the Kolkata event through video conferencing hours later.

“I was supposed to come to West Bengal but due to personal reasons, I could not come there. I seek forgiveness from the people of Bengal,” PM Modi said addressing the gathering virtually.