Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, one of the marquee infrastructure projects of the central government, and hit out at the Congress government in Rajasthan, which he said will benefit from his Bharatiya Janata Party’s push on development.
Rajasthan is expected to go to the polls by the end of the year and the first leg of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway inaugurated on Sunday, which will bring the state capital close to the national capital in terms of travel time, is expected to become one of the talking points the BJP will raise to wrest back control of the state.
“Congress governments did not carry out development works in the border villages and areas because they were afraid… they have said in parliament, that what will happen if the enemy comes on those roads made by us,” Modi said while addressing a public meeting in Dausa.
“Congress has always underestimated the valour and bravery of our soldiers. Our forces know it well to stop the enemy at the border and to give them a befitting reply,” he added.
The Sohna-Dausa stretch of the expressway begins in the National Capital Region (NCR), extending 246km to reach Dausa. Built at a cost of ₹12,150 crore, the highway will slash the travel time from Jaipur by road from the current five hours to around three hours.
“For the last 9 years, the central government is also continuously making huge investments in infrastructure,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the entire expressway between Delhi and Mumbai — India’s national and financial capitals — will benefit Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra. “Tourism spots like Sariska, Keoladeo National Park, Ranthambore and Jaipur will draw huge benefits from the highway,” he said.
Earlier, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said the expressway will be India’s longest with a length of 1,386km. “It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 percent from 1,424km to 1,242km and travel time will be reduced by 50 percent from 24hrs to 12hrs,” he said, adding that the highway passes through some of the most backward districts of the country, which will stand to benefit from the improved connectivity.
K Venkata Raman, member, National Highways Authority of India (public private partnerships), who was present at Hilalpur, said the Sohna-Dausa stretch will reduce congestion on the existing Delhi-Jaipur highway, and help reduce pollution. “The expressway will offer better commuting experience and traffic will monitored on it round the clock,” he said.
But the political import of the project was clear, with the PM attacking Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s administration and his Congress party at length.
“The Congress stalls, misguide and hangs work… neither they work nor let anyone work. In Congress government the law and order situation is deteriorating. The kind of news are coming from Rajasthan — the message is if we want to protect the tradition and culture than we have to bring in BJP government,” he said.
Commenting on the PM’s remarks, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, “It is the Congress that strengthened infrastructure at the border areas it be in Rajasthan or the Northeast states. Whereas in the BJP government, the Chinese encroached on our land and the PM is still tight-lipped.”
Chaturvedi accused Modi of making “baseless allegations” for votes.
The PM also took aim at CM Gehlot, though he did not name the latter. “What happened in the state budget is a matter of discussions everywhere,” he said, alluding to a gaffe by Gehlot who on Friday mistakenly read out a portion of the speech from last year’s state budget.
“Rajasthan today needs a stable and development-oriented government, and then only rule of law will establish. And today I am seeing the enthusiasm for a double engine government,” the PM added.
In several of its state election campaigns, starting with Uttar Pradesh where it won last year, the BJP has made a “double engine growth” pitch, alluding to the potential gains of having a state government run by the same party as at the centre.
Earlier, at another programme held a few kilometres away, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot reminded the Prime Minister that he had promised to accord priority to the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), a canal network that is meant to bring drinking and irrigation water to 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan.
Gehlot said during his election rallies in Jaipur and Ajmer in the past, Modi had said a decision would be taken on giving priority to the project. “It is expected that you will say something on the ERCP,” the Congress leader said.
Modi, at his separate event, said the Centre is committed to ensuring regular supply of water to those districts and said a draft plan for a major project combining the ERCP and the old Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal link has been shared by the Centre with the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
“The draft has been included in the list of priority-based projects by the special committee on rivers. The Centre will definitely think of advancing it when the governments of both the states agree on it,” Modi said.