Congrats for saving Bengal: Minister praises Suvendu, announces rail projects

Announcing a rail infrastructure blitz in Bengal, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday praised Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for the election win and "saving Bengal" from the Trinamool Congress, which he accused of delaying key projects. Vaishnaw, who visited Kolkata and also took a metro ride, asserted that railway projects worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore were currently underway in the state.

"Congratulations on the way you have saved Bengal. Now you can work. For so many years, development work was stopped here," Vaishnaw told Suvendu, widely seen as the architect behind the BJP's turnaround in the state.

Suvendu, who accompanied Vaishnaw, said the government would work closely with the Centre to accelerate pending railway projects. He blamed the Mamata Banerjee-led regime for taking Centre-state relations to a "very difficult stage".

"Just as we have provided land to the BSF to strengthen border security, we will similarly provide land to the Railways for various projects across West Bengal," the Bengal CM said.

In its first Cabinet meeting last month, the BJP government initiated the transfer of 600 acres of land to the BSF for barbed-wire fencing along the porous Bangladesh border. It was a key promise of the BJP.

In his address, Vaishnaw said the Kolkata Metro would receive 60 new-generation trains over the next five years. He also said that 102 stations in Bengal were being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat scheme.

Here, it must be noted that Kolkata Metro is the only rapid transit system in India that is fully owned and operated by the Railways.

Vaishnaw also took potshots at the previous TMC government, accusing it of delaying several railway and metro projects. He cited the metro project at Chingrighata, where work on a stretch was delayed due to court battles.

"Projects valued at around Rs 1.02 lakh crore have been pending implementation for a long time... You may recall the case of the metro project at Chingrighata, where the TMC government pursued legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court," Vaishnaw said.

"Their attitude was not to allow any development works," he further said.

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