HOURS AFTER performing the last rites of his mother in Gandhinagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express — the first Vande Bharat Express in West Bengal and the seventh in the country — via video link on Friday.
Addressing the event, Modi apologised for not being physically present. “Today, I was supposed to be among you, but I could not come due to some personal reasons, for which I apologise to you and the people of West Bengal,” he said.
Offering her condolences to Modi, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: “Today is a sad day. I pray to God to give you strength and bless you so that you can love your mother with your action and your activities. I convey my gratitude to you… you were supposed to come to West Bengal today, but because of the sad demise of your mother, you could not do so, but have reached us through your virtual programme. I request that the programme be cut short. Please take some rest, I don’t know how to condole your mother’s death, your mother is our mother. I remember my mother also.”
In his speech, the PM said: “The land from where the call of Vande Mataram originated saw the flagging off of Vande Bharat today”. He pointed out the significance of the date, saying that Subhas Chandra Bose had hoisted the Tricolour in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on December 30, 1943, setting the wheels in motion for the independence of India.
Modi also dedicated four railway projects to the nation — Boinchi-Shaktigarh 3rd Line (Rs 405 crore), Dankuni-Chandanpur 4th Line (Rs 565 crore), Nimtita-New Farakka Double Line (Rs 254 crore), Ambari Falakata-New Maynaguri-Gumanihat Doubling Project (over Rs 1,080 crore) — laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the New Jalpaiguri railway station, and inaugurated the Joka-Taratala stretch of the Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line).
“In this 21st century, fast-paced development of Indian Railways is important for fast-paced development of India. We are working to modernise the Indian Railways. A national campaign is on to transform the Railways through modern trains being manufactured in India,” he said.
“Our efforts to give the Indian Railways a new identity are paying off. In the next eight years, we will see it reach new heights of modernisation. Railways is taking a youthful avatar, in line with young India,” he said.
Modi said that while 20,000-km rail lines were electrified in the first seven decades of Independence, over 32,000 km had been electrified since 2014. He said the Metro Rail system is an example of India’s speed and scale today. “Metro network, which was less than 250 km before 2014, had the highest share in Delhi-NCR. In the last seven-eight years, Metro has expanded to more than two dozen cities. Today, Metro is running on an approximately 800-km-long track in different cities. Work is going on for Metro routes of more than 1,000 km,” he said.
He noted that new airports, waterways, ports and roads are being constructed to ensure seamless connectivity for people. “India is working towards boosting its jal shakti,” he said, adding that work was underway to develop over 100 waterways projects. Highlighting the Ganga-Brahmaputra project between India and Bangladesh to establish waterway links, he said a cruise will set sail on a 3,200-km-long journey from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to Dibrugarh (Assam) via Bangladesh on January 13.
The PM said more than 25 sewage projects have been approved in West Bengal under the Namami Gange Scheme, of which 11 have been completed.
Besides the CM, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw were among those present at the event. Seemingly upset by the sloganeering from a section of the crowd, Banerjee refused to get up on the dais from where the Vande Bharat Express was flagged off.
Later in the day, Modi also chaired the second meeting of the National Ganga Council in Kolkata via video conference. According to a press release issued by the state government, Banerjee raised several issues related to river conservation.
