First Vande Bharat train in Rajasthan is Flagged off by PM Modi

April 12, 2023 | Author: News Desk

The Prime Minister lamented that “an important and basic requirement of the citizens like railways was transformed into an arena of politics for a long time” as he launched the train between Ajmer and Delhi Cantonment via video conference.

NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, the inaugural Vande Bharat express for Rajasthan, which is headed to the polls, was flagged off by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister lamented that “an important and basic requirement of the citizens like railways was transformed into an arena of politics for a long time” as he launched the train between Ajmer and Delhi Cantonment via video conference.

“India inherited a fairly large railway network at the time of independence,” Prime Minister Modi said, “but political interest dominated the need for modernisation in the years after independence.”

“Politics was evident in the selection of a railway minister, the announcement of trains, and even recruitments. Land acquisition was done under the guise of railway jobs, and many unmanned crossings remained for an extended period of time, while cleanliness and safety suffered “He was referring to the land for job scam, in which former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members are being investigated.

“The situation took a turn for the better after 2014 when people elected a stable government with full majority, when the pressure of political give and take receded, railway heaved a sigh of relief and sprinted to new heights,” Modi said.

This is the sixth Vande Bharat train in the last two months to have been flagged off by the Prime Minister.

Incidentally, all the three trains –Ajmer-Delhi Cantonment Vande Bharat express, Rani Kamlapati-Hazrat Nizammuddin Vande Bharat express and Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat express — cater to the needs of three poll-bound states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana respectively.

All the three states are scheduled to witness Assembly elections later this year.

Meanwhile, Modi remarked that the railway budget for Rajasthan has been increased 14 times since 2014, from Rs 700 crore in 2014 to more than Rs 9,500 crore this year.

Addressing the gathering, Modi congratulated the land of valour Rajasthan for getting its first Vande Bharat Train, which he said, will not only ease the travel between Jaipur Delhi but will also give a push to the tourism industry of Rajasthan, as it will facilitate faster access to places of faith like Theerthraj Pushkar and Ajmer Sharif.