West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to skip the inauguration of three Kolkata metro projects by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 22, a top state government official said on Monday.

Banerjee, during her tenure as the railway minister, had planned these metro projects, he claimed.

The decision to skip the inauguration of the metro projects was taken in the backdrop of alleged harassment of migrants from West Bengal in the BJP-ruled states, he said.

"There have been charges of linguistic discrimination and the harassment of the Bengalis in several states, with the alleged support of the BJP and the central government. Protests are underway to oppose such discriminatory treatment being meted out to Bengali migrants. In such a situation, the chief minister does not wish to share the stage with officials from the central government," the top bureaucrat told PTI.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a letter dated August 14, invited Banerjee to the inauguration of three metro projects on Friday.

"We kindly invite you to grace the occasion at Jessore Road metro station for the above programme," Vaishnaw said in the letter dated August 14.

However, the TMC questioned the timing of the inauguration, claiming that the long-pending projects were being opened with an eye on the assembly elections due early next year.

The state BJP dismissed the charge, blaming the state government for the delay in the completion of the metro projects.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said, "43 railway projects in Bengal, including the East-West Metro (Green Line), have been delayed due to land acquisition problems and lack of cooperation from the state government."

"The construction of the Orange Line at Chingrighata has been stalled for a long time because of this. Otherwise, it would have been connected to Salt Lake Sector 5," he said.

Bhattacharya said the CM's presence at the inauguration programme "would be desirable."

Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Sealdah-Esplanade section of the Green Line, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby Crossing)-Beleghata stretch of the Orange Line, and Noapara-Jai Hind Bimanbandar (airport) section of the Yellow Line.

"These railway projects were originally planned and funded by Mamata Banerjee during her tenure as the railway minister. After years of slow progress, the BJP is now inaugurating them before the elections to claim credit. The chief minister was only given a routine invitation via letter," the official claimed.

The chief minister had, in the past, attended central government events to respect the constitutional protocol, he said.

"But during these programmes, BJP supporters created chaos and acted disrespectfully, turning the official functions into political platforms. Given this into account, no option will be given for such unacceptable conduct," he added.

With this inauguration, the Green Line, touted as India's first underwater metro, will become fully operational, connecting Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector 5, and the Kolkata airport will get a metro link, reported PTI.