Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed the previous Congress-led regime in the country for the slow pace of development work, adding "Naraz Fufa" (aggrieved uncle) will now question the impact of the dedicated freight corridor on truck drivers.
Modi was addressing a gathering, mostly comprising youngsters, in Gujarat's Vadodara after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of development projects of Rs 35,000 crore.
“After 2014, India built 50,000 modern rail coaches. The previous (Congress) regime could not build even 50,000 toilets in 10 years,” he said.
The prime minister also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' initiative, saying youngsters would stand with the truth and not be misled by what he termed "Jooth ki Goonj" (echo of lies).
"At every nook and corner, you will find people who will try to mislead you through 'Jooth Ki Goonj', but today's youth will stand with the truth," Modi said.
'Chhatron Ki Goonj' is a student-dialogue campaign launched by the Congress, under which programmes are being organised in various cities across the country.
Through the campaign, the Opposition party is attempting to corner the ruling BJP on issues such as exam question paper leaks, costly education, irregularities in government recruitment and unemployment.
Modi inaugurated three key sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, connecting Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai with Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, marking completion of the project.
“Dedicated freight corridors are the lifeline of a fast-developing India. India’s transformation is accelerating because of this modern freight network,” Modi said.
Earlier, passenger and goods trains had to run on the same tracks, slowing down both passenger travel and freight movement but the Dedicated Freight Corridor has changed this, he said.
“Naraz Fufa will now scream: what will happen to truckers? Fufa has some work now,” Modi said, without naming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
“After 2014, with your blessings, when I reached Delhi, and as soon as we arrived there, we began accelerating this project. Work on the dedicated freight corridors has been completed today,” he said.
“Today, the Eastern and Western Freight Corridors are becoming the main backbone of the country's trade and business,” Modi said.
The 2,800-km long Dedicated Freight Corridor a testament to how the country's work culture has transformed over the past 12 years, Modi said.
“The idea for this Dedicated Freight Corridor began in 2004. In 2006, a special company was established to carry out this work, and until 2014, files just kept shuffling from one place to another.
“Unfortunately, even these files weren't fortunate enough to get a dedicated corridor. Files would get stuck, hang around, wander aimlessly,” Modi said.
(With inputs from PTI)
