Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal on Friday, where he will address a BJP rally in Durgapur, besides laying the foundation stone and inauguration of multiple development projects worth over Rs 5000 crore.
With the Assembly elections in West Bengal due in April-May next year, Modi’s visit assumes political significance, especially because it coincides with Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee’s Martyrs Day rally at Kolkata on July 21.
According to political observers, since it is the last Martyrs Day rally of the Trinamool Congress before the Assembly polls, Banerjee is all set to use this platform to give a clear political message to her main political rival, the BJP and is also expected to announce some new schemes to lure voters.
In this context, Modi’s speech in the public meeting at Durgapur will catch everyone’s attention.
On Wednesday, Banerjee held a protest march in Kolkata against the alleged harassment and torture of Bengali-speaking people in several BJP-ruled states.
Daring the BJP-led Centre to send her to the detention camp, she had said, “The people of Bengal have elected me to serve them. Let me work here. If you create disturbance here, I will tour the entire country. You won’t be able to stop me. I will see how many detention camps you can lodge me in. Even there I will speak in Bengali. If Bengalis are sent to detention camps, the people of Bengal through their votes will send BJP to the political detention camp.”
“Bengal is under our control and will remain so. In the coming days, we will also take over Delhi, taking everyone along,” she had claimed on Wednesday.
On the same day, Leader of Opposition at the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, went to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal on the infiltration issue.
Meanwhile, for the occasion of Modi’s meeting on Friday afternoon, two stages have been set up at Nehru Stadium in Durgapur.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of several projects before addressing a public meeting on another stage nearby. After the meeting, the Prime Minister will leave for Delhi.
The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal, worth around Rs 1,950 crore. It will provide PNG connections to households, commercial establishments and industrial customers, and provide CNG at the retail outlets and also create employment opportunities in the region.
Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Durgapur to Kolkata section (132 Km) of Durgapur-Haldia Natural Gas Pipeline, which has been laid as a part of Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline also known as Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG) Project.
The Durgapur to Kolkata section, worth over Rs 1,190 crore, is passing through the districts of East Burdwan, Hooghly and Nadia in West Bengal. The pipeline provided direct and indirect employment during its implementation phase and will now facilitate the supply of natural gas to lakhs of households in the region.
Boosting rail infrastructure in the region, the Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the doubling of the Purulia – Kotshila Rail Line (36 KM) in Purulia, worth over Rs 390 crore. It will improve rail connectivity between industries from Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad with Ranchi and Kolkata and efficient movement of goods trains, reducing travel time and improving logistics for industries and businesses.
