West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother is also our mother and expressed grief over PM Modi's mother's death and thanked him for virtually inaugurating the Vande Bharat train in Kolkata, which happened earlier today.
“Respected prime minister, today is a sad day… I pray to god, may god give you the strength and bless you so that you can love your mother with your action and your activities,” she said, further requesting that the event’s duration should be reduced.
“On behalf of the people of West Bengal, I thank you so much for giving us this opportunity. It's a sad day for you. Your mother means our mother also. May god give you the strength to continue your work, please take some rest,” Banerjee added.
PM Modi flagged off the seventh Vande Bharat Express on Friday, just hours after his mother Heeraben Modi died in Gandhinagar. Modi was scheduled to visit West Bengal to inaugurate a number of development projects, but he was unable to attend due to his mother's death. He apologised for not being physically present.
"Today I was supposed to come among you but I could not come for some personal reasons for which I apologise to you and West Bengal," PM Modi said.
PM Modi spoke via video conference minutes after performing the last rites for his mother Heeraben, who died on Friday morning.
As PM Modi signalled the start of the Kolkata Metro's purple line and the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, he recalled Bengal's role in the freedom movement and declared that December 30 is an important historical date.
"The land where Vande Mataram call was given will now see the flag of Vande Bharat. On December 30, 1943, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave the clarion call for Independence in the Andamans," PM Modi added.