Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Vande Bharat face of new India: PM
Modi inaugurates two new express trains from Mumbai: One to Solapur via Pune, another to Shirdi
MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two new Vande Bharat Express trains from Mumbai: the first to Solapur via Pune and the second to the temple town of Shirdi via Nashik. He also inaugurated two bridges on the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road connecting the eastern and western suburbs and an underpass at Kurar village. This was Modi’s second visit to Mumbai in less than a month, timed ahead of the civic polls which could be held fairly soon.
Calling Vande Bharat “the face of new India” and a reflection of India’s “speed and scale”, the PM exulted that the flagging off of the two trains was a “huge day” for the railways in India. “The trains will connect economic centres such as Mumbai and Pune to centres of faith,” he said. “Travelling to sacred places like Shirdi, Nashik, Trimbakeshwar, Ramkund and Panchvati will be easier now, and both tourism and pilgrimages will get a boost.”
Reiterating the need to improve public transport and ease citizens’ lives, Modi pointed out that this thinking was behind the launch of modern trains, the expansion of the Metro, and the setting up of new airports and ports. “There was a time when MPs used to write letters, asking for train halts in their constituencies. Now they are demanding Vande Bharat trains there,” he quipped.
In his speech, the PM specified that the Union budget for the first time had allocated Rs 10 lakh crore exclusively for infrastructure development, and of this the railways’ share was 2.5 lakh crore. “The rail budget for Maharashtra has also witnessed an unprecedented rise,” he said. “I hope that with the efforts of the double-engine government, connectivity in the state will move ahead rapidly.”
Elaborating further on his government’s budget, Modi said that the needs of both the salaried class and businessmen had been addressed. “People with an income of more than Rs 200,000 were taxed before 2014 (in the Congress-led UPA),” he said. “It was our government that initially increased the tax-exemption limit to Rs 5,00,000 and this year to Rs 700,000. Those who paid 20 percent tax in the UPA government pay zero tax today.”
The other political leaders present waxed eloquent on Modi’s largesse. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena (BSS) and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP thanked the PM for his benevolence in granting the state Rs 13,539 crore for railway works and exulted that this had never happened before. Fadnavis said that the money would be used to give 124 stations a makeover and turn Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus into an “iconic building”.
Central railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while echoing Shinde’s and Fadnavis’ sentiments, thanked Shinde for “removing all the obstacles” from the way of the bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad by helping in land acquisition. The land acquisition, stuck for three years on account of villagers who were unwilling to give up their land, was expedited by Shinde.