PM Modi wants to claim credit...: Congress on Chenab rail bridge inauguration

The Congress on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking undue credit for the Chenab railway bridge, shortly after the latter inaugurated the world's tallest rail arch in Jammu and Kashmir.

"This railway project was sanctioned in 1995 when Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister. In 2002, Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared it a national project. Of the 272-kilometre stretch between Udhampur, Srinagar and Baramulla, 160 km was already inaugurated before 2014. It's not like Modi came, gave the contract, and the work started," Congress general secretary, Jairam Ramesh, said.

Calling for recognition of the contributions made by successive governments, Ramesh said, "We congratulate the project, but the Prime Minister must not forget the importance of continuity in governance, something a self-absorbed PM cannot understand. Modi only wants to claim credit for the work done before him".

Tracing the timeline of the project, Ramesh said, "on April 13, 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the 53 km rail link between Jammu and Udhampur. On October 11, 2008, PM Singh inaugurated the 66 km rail link between Anantnag and Mazhom outside Srinagar. On February 14, 2009, PM Singh inaugurated the 31 km rail link between Mazhom outside Srinagar and Baramulla. On October 29, 2009, Prime Minister PM Singh inaugurated the 18 km rail link between Anantnag and Qazigund. On June 26, 2013, PM Singh inaugurated the 11 km Qazigund to Banihal rail link".

PM Modi arrived at the Air Force station in Udhampur and flew by helicopter to the Chenab bridge site to formally inaugurate the engineering marvel, which now links the Kashmir Valley to the rest of India via rail. This is the Prime Minister’s first visit to Kashmir since Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the April Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists.

In addition to the Chenab bridge, PM Modi flagged off two Vande Bharat Express trains between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Srinagar and is also scheduled to inaugurate India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge at Anji later in the day.