KOLKATA: A controversy has erupted over the scheduled inauguration of Sealdah Metro station of the East-West corridor here on July 11, with the TMC claiming that Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has not been invited to the railway ministry programme.
The opposition BJP shot back stating the TMC government, which "never extends invitation" to saffron camp MPs and MLAs for state programmes, should get to taste its own medicine.
Union minister Smriti Irani, who arrived here on Sunday, is scheduled to attend the event.
Commercial services between Sector V in Salt Lake and Sealdah are set to commence on July 14.
Coming down heavily on the BJP-led Centre, West Bengal minister and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim alleged that the central government had "no regard for democratic principles".
"The East-West Metro project is being implemented with the mutual cooperation of the state and Centre.
The move to leave out the chief minister stemmed from narrow political considerations," he said.
Slamming the TMC over the assertion, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh told reporters, "None of our MLAs and MPs gets invited to any state functions including administrative meetings. The CM, too, should not complain for not getting an invitation."
Ghosh further claimed that the state government, after using central funds, "renames central projects to avoid giving credit to the Narendra Modi government".
Responding to Ghosh's comments, Hakim said, "The Centre does not give alms to Bengal. The state has every right to ask what it is entitled to."