Modi pitches for use of public transport

NOIDA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made a strong pitch for public transport, saying it was environment friendly and saved the government precious foreign exchange spent on importing fuel.

Modi was speaking at the inauguration of the Delhi’s Metro’s Botanical Garden-Kalkaji Mandir link that will cut the travel time between south Delhi and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. “...I request everyone that travel by Metro should become a matter of prestige and we should discourage the use of private vehicles ... By doing such small deeds, we can save our nation from many problems,” he said.

Modi also said good governance was possible only when the mindset of deriving personal benefit while framing policies and completing projects was shunned. “For us, decisions are about national interest and not political gains,” the PM said.

Modi was also effusive in his praise of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who turned 93 on Monday.

Vajpayee was the first passenger to travel in Delhi Metro on December 24, 2002 and 15 years on, the Metro had become a symbol of pride, he said. Crediting the BJP veteran with empowering people, Modi said the former PM had laid thrust on good governance and connectivity.

“Atal ji had started PM Gram Sadak Yojna and started a new era of connecting each village with a road,” he said and went on to compare the former PM to emperor Sher Shah Suri, credited with laying a network of roads, including the famous Grand Trunk Road. His government had doubled the work on roads compared to the previous dispensation, Modi said. “We have increased production of fertilizers... without setting any new unit,” he said, adding the government was also pushing for solar energy in a big way.

MODI WAS ALSO EFFUSIVE IN HIS PRAISE OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE, WHO TURNED 93 ON MONDAY