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The Times of India
The Times of India
National
Saibal Sen | TNN

After cremating mother, PM Narendra Modi virtually flags off infra projects for West Bengal

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off a host of infra projects, designed to add speed to Bengal and Kolkata, immediately after his mother’s cremation in Gandhinagar on Friday as West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and a host of other CMs physically attended the programmes at Howrah and the naval base off Garden Reach.

An unseemly controversy, resulting from "Jai Sri Ram" slogans from a section of the crowd waving BJP flags on Howrah station’s platform 23, prompted Banerjee to refuse to take her place on the dais. The Bengal CM chose to address the audience from the front row of the platform-level seating area and thanked Modi for attending the event virtually despite his mother’s death a few hours earlier.

"Your mother was our mother also. I remember my mother. May God give you the strength to continue your work. Today is a sad day for you personally and it is a great loss. May God bless you so that you can love your mother through your action and activity. Please take rest as you are coming directly from the crematorium," Banerjee told Modi.

"Please cut short the programme," she added, prompting the PM to respond with folded hands.

Modi started his address seeking "forgiveness" for his inability to attend the programme physically. "I was supposed to come but could not due to personal reasons. I seek forgiveness from the people of Bengal," he said.

1/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

PTI

2/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>Hiraben Modi passed away on December 30 at 3.30 am during treatment at U N Mehta Heart Hospital.</p>PTI

3/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>PM Modi broke the news on Twitter and wrote with a heavy heart, "A glorious century rests at the feet of God. In Maa, I have always felt that trinity, which contains the journey of an ascetic, the symbol of a selfless Karmayogi and a life committed to values." </p>PTI

4/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>Upon learning his mother's health condition, PM Modi had rushed to Ahmedabad from Delhi on Wednesday and visited the hospital to inquire about Heeraben's health.</p>PTI

5/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>"A great journey of 100 years has come to an end. I have witnessed three qualities in mother, a journey like that of a tapasvi (saint), a selfless worker and life dedicated to values," PM Modi tweeted. </p>PTI

6/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently visited his mother after the BJP secured a record-breaking win in the Gujarat assembly polls.</p>PTI

7/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>A bulletin from the U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, where she was admitted on Wednesday after her health deteriorated, announced the news of her demise.</p>PTI

8/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>Heeraben, also called Heeraba, lived at Raysan village near Gandhinagar city with PM Modi's younger brother Pankaj Modi.</p>PTI

9/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>PM Modi recalled that when he met his mother on her 100th birthday, she had told him: “Work with wisdom and live with purity”.</p>PTI

10/10:PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

<p>PM Modi regularly visited Raysan and spent time with his mother during his visits to Gujarat.</p><p><br /></p>PTI
PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi passes away at 100

He then spoke of a host of projects worth Rs 7,600 crore, designed to boost Bengal’s transport infra and clean up the Ganga in the state, while inaugurating the maiden run of Bengal’s first Vande Bharat.

"Bengal’s people, unique in their patriotism, are the foremost in trying to discover India when people from many other states seek to visit other countries. Bengal’s people put the nation first even in tourism," the PM said, stressing how India was rapidly modernising its transport infrastructure, adding "speed to its railways fleet and “upgrading railway stations to the level of airports."

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