Mamata refuses to sit on dais at Howrah Station

High drama prevailed at Howrah Station on Friday as a visibly annoyed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to get up on the dais from where the Vande Bharat express to New Jalpaiguri will be flagged off.

Banerjee seemed upset by the loud sloganeering from a section of the invited crowd at the railway station.

Attempts by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Governor C V Ananda Bose to pacify her did not bear fruit, as the chief minister chose to seat on a chair along with the audience.

The Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri, the gateway to the northeast, as well as several development projects, will be virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.