Opposition leaders in West Bengal took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday for inaugurating a slew of projects ahead of Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration on January 22 and mixing religion with politics.

After inaugurating the Maharshi Valmiki airport and the redeveloped Ayodhya Dham station, Modi flagged off two Amrit Bharat and six Vande Bharat trains.

He appealed to all citizens to light 'diyas' in their houses on January 22 so that the whole country can bask in the glory of the temple.

The PM also urged people to launch cleanliness drives at pilgrimage sites and temples across the country from 'Makar Sankranti' on January 14 until the temple consecration day.

Taking a jibe at Modi, TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh posted on X, "This is indeed PM @narendramodi's New India, where 97 crore people cannot afford a healthy diet. Yet, the government slashes foodgrain subsidies for the poor by 63 per cent. Where 2 lakh urban dwellers remain homeless and 6.5 crore reside in slums." "But you do have selfie booths with the prime minister's cutouts promising that 'achhe din' are soon to come," he added.

Ghosh's senior party colleague and West Bengal minister and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim criticised the spree of railway project inaugurations by the PM, saying "the infrastructure does not support running high-speed trains so frequently, compromising passenger safety. Modi is resorting to gimmicks." He accused the BJP of threatening India's fabric by not giving recognition to every religion and violating the spirit of Sri Ramakrishna's preaching "Joto Mat, Toto Path" (as many paths, as many ways) to reach God and include everyone.

WBPCC president Adhir Choudhury said, "Modi and his party BJP are mixing politics with religion. The Ram temple is one thing, but undertaking a political campaign in the name of the Ram temple is another." He said while building rail stations and airports in one place is okay, "people across the country need airports and trains." Slamming the opposition parties, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said, "While Modiji has ushered in great development initiatives, the parties in West Bengal will never learn. Their politics has taken our state backwards in the past and will continue to do so."

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