Kolkata, Aug 14 (IANS) Subject to last-minute changes, it is almost final that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in West Bengal on August 22 to attend two programmes, one administrative and one political.

The administrative programme will be the inauguration of three new city metro railway routes, namely Noapara to Jai Hind Airport Station, Ruby to Beliaghata, and Esplanade to Sealdah.

After the administrative programme, the Prime Minister is scheduled to address a political rally organised by the West Bengal unit of the BJP at Dum Dum in North 24 Parganas district.

“Initially, the Dum Dum rally was scheduled on August 20. However, since the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament will continue till August 21, the Prime Minister will be busy in New Delhi till that date. So a fresh proposal was sent from the Bengal unit of the BJP to fix August 22 as the date of the Dum Dum rally. Now, unless there is a last-minute change, the Prime Minister’s programmes on August 22 are final,” said a state committee member of the party.

Already, the West Bengal unit of the BJP has presented a plan to the party’s central leadership for five public meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state during the remaining five months of the calendar year of 2025, which will mean one meeting per month by the Prime Minister during that period.

At the same time, the party has plans to organise a mega rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata in January next year, which will also be addressed by the Prime Minister.

The state committee insider further said that the locations of the proposed public meeting of the Prime Minister for the remaining months of the current calendar year will be planned in such a manner that major parts of both South Bengal and North Bengal could be covered. As per the plan, the meetings will be planned at locations at junctures of two or more districts.

Already, the Prime Minister had addressed two public meetings in West Bengal so far this year, the first being in May at Alipurduar in North Bengal and the second being at the industrial township of Durgapur in West Burdwan district in South Bengal in July.

From both meetings, the Prime Minister launched a scathing attack on the West Bengal government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the ruling Trinamool Congress on various issues like rampant corruption, rise in crime against women in the state, and frequent communal tension and riot-like situations in minority-dominated pockets in the state.

–IANS

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