Slamming the Congress-led government in the neighbouring State of Karnataka over its alleged failure to ensure rapid development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lavished praises on the Maharashtra government headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Mr. Modi was speaking in Pune after flagging off metro trains marking the inauguration of completed sections of phase 1 of the Pune Metro Rail project. He also handed over keys to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
“The industrial development of Maharashtra has paved the way for the industrial development of India since independence. On the one hand, Maharashtra is making rapid strides while on the other, a government was formed in Karnataka by making hollow announcements. Now, the whole nation is witnessing what is happening in Bengaluru, a big IT hub and global investor centre. It was expected that Karnataka would make rapid progress but with the change of government, people there are suffering,” said the Prime Minister, addressing a packed crowd in the city’s Police Ground area.
Mr. Modi further said the Karnataka government itself had accepted it did not have money for the development of Bengaluru or Karnataka, ruing the “political selfishness” of the government there.
“The situation is the same in Rajasthan [another Congress-ruled State]. Debts are increasing and no development work is taking place,” said Mr. Modi.
Mr. Modi claimed that in the past nine years, the Union government had built more than four crore houses in villages and cities for the poor.
“Most of these houses built by us are registered in the names of women. These houses are worth many lakhs and crores of women in the country have become ‘Lakhpati didis’ in the past nine years,” he said.
Stating that projects launched today in Pune city would boost infrastructure development and improve quality of life for the people, he said the metro was becoming a new lifeline for the cities in modern India.
Recalling the start of the Pune metro project five years ago, the Prime Minister said that 24 km of the Metro rail network had already started functioning in this period.
“Before 2014, the metro network was limited to only five Indian cities whereas today, the metro is functional in 20 cities including Pune, Nagpur and Mumbai. The metro is becoming a new lifeline for the cities in modern India,” Mr. Modi said.
The Prime Minister flagged off the metro trains accompanied by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, governor Ramesh Bais, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shinde said that the adhesion of Ajit Pawar and his NCP faction had made the State government a “triple-engine” one and was ensuring Maharashtra’s rapid development.
Mr. Fadnavis said, “The last time that Modiji had come to inaugurate the Pune Metro (March 2022), the three of us (Mr. Shinde, Mr. Fadnavis and Mr. Ajit Pawar) were in different roles. I was leader of Opposition at the time, Ajit Pawar was deputy CM (in the MVA government) and Eknath Shinde was Urban development Minister (also in the MVA). But now, we three have come together to give impetus to Pune’s dreams and raise Maharashtra to new heights.”
