Kolkata/IBNS: In a deja vu of what had happened at Victoria Memorial in 2021, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday refused to take the dais after the "Jai Shree Ram" slogan was raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers upon her arrival at the Howrah Station here during the Vande Bharat Express inauguration.

After the scene broke out, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, BJP MP Dr. Subhas Sarkar tried to calm the workers and stop the chants.

But when the appeals made by the minister and Sarkar went in vain, Mamata refused to take the stage.

Though the Railway Minister folded hands and requested her to take the stage, the Chief Minister was defiant, stood beside the dais and later addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi, who lost his mother Heeraben Modi last night, joined the programme virtually to inaugurate Vande Bharat Express.

The Prime Minister, who was earlier scheduled to visit Kolkata, will be virtually present at a number of programmes in Kolkata.