Modi launches mega NCR projects, makes 400 pitch

Modi said India had touched new heights in the world and it was made possible because of people’s blessings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a clutch of infrastructure, health care and cultural projects in the national capital region (NCR) on Friday, using the occasion to underscore his government’s developmental record and hit out at the Opposition just weeks before general elections are scheduled to be announced.

Speaking in Rewari town in Haryana, Modi reiterated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was set to get more than 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, and the National Democratic Alliance would cross the 400-seat mark, as he inaugurated projects worth ₹9,750 crore. This included laying the foundation stone of the All India Institute of Medical Science, Rewari and the Gurugram Metro.

Modi said India had touched new heights in the world and it was made possible because of people’s blessings. Referring to his visits to the UAE and Qatar this week, he said the respect India gets from every corner is for every Indian. He also spoke about his government’s record of delivering welfare to all sections of society, including farmers.

He attacked the Congress for failing to remove Article 370 in Kashmir, and creating hurdles in the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “We had promised the people that we would construct the Ram Temple, which has been realised. The Congress used to mock Lord Ram and call him a mythical character… now even Congress leaders are saying Jai Shri Ram,” Modi said.

He said that he had guaranteed that he would remove Article 370, which bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. “Now despite incessant hurdles put in place by the Congress, Article 370 has been lost in the pages of history. Today, Kashmiri women, dalits, marginalised and tribal communities have begun receiving their rights. That is why people have resolved that those who removed 370, they will get more than 370 seats. The BJP will get more than 370, and the NDA will be past 400,” he said.

Modi also said that while previous governments kept southern Haryana backward, the BJP’s “double engine” — a reference to the same government at the state and in the Centre — was ensuring infrastructural development such as hospitals, rail networks and expressways.

“This foundation-laying ceremony of AIIMS Rewari is in line with the government’s commitment to prioritize public health infrastructure and strengthen citizen-centric health services through holistic development of the health sector,” he said.

The AIIMS Rewari complex, to be built at a cost of ₹1,231 crore, will be a 203-acre facility that includes a 720-bed hospital, a 100-seat medical college, a 60-seat nursing college and a 30-bed AYUSH block. The Gurgaon metro project, which will have a total length of 28.5 kilometres, will connect the Millennium City Centre to Udyog Vihar phase 5, and will merge into the existing Rapid Metro Rail project at Moulsari Avenue, close to Gurugram’s Cyber City.

At a time when large chunks of farmers from Punjab and Haryana have hit the streets demanding a minimum support price guarantee, Modi said that his government had taken a slew of measures during his term to improve lives of farmers. “The country’s small farmers had nothing through which they could get guarantees for banks. Modi gave them the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi guarantee,” he said.

The PM said he was making a guarantee to establish more AIIMS hospitals and medical colleges across the country. “We are laying the foundation stone of the hospital project in Rewari and with the blessings of people, we will inaugurate it as well,” he said, adding that 300 medical colleges were opened over the past decade, and it was his goal that every district have such an institution.

Apart from AIIMS and the metro projects, the PM launched a project for doubling of Bhiwani-Dobh Bhali railway line for ₹470 crore, doubling of Manheru-Bawani Khera rail for ₹410 crore, Rewari-Khatuwas rail line for ₹350 crore, and the Khatuwas-Narnaul rail line for ₹310 crore. He also inaugurated Rohtak-Hansi-Megam new railway line constructed at a cost of ₹890 crore. He also launched the Jyotisar experience centre in Kurukshtra virtually.

Later in the day, the PM laid the foundation stone for NLC India Ltd’s 300-mw solar power project in Barsingsar, Rajasthan, and laid the foundation stone of other solar projects in the state. Addressing the event through videoconferencing, Modi said that the country has started moving at a fast pace in generating solar power, and in giving an impetus to this mission, today, the foundation stone has been laid for various solar power projects in Rajasthan.

Modi said that he sought the blessings of the people of Haryana for a third straight term, when he promised India will become the third-largest economy in the world. “India has become the fifth largest economy in the last 10 years, the Tricolour has reached the Moon, and the G20 summit was conducted successfully because of your support. I seek your blessings for a third term to make India the third largest economy of the world,” he said.

The PM said that when he first came to address a rally in Rewari in 2013, he promised to implement the One Rank One Pension scheme for retired defence personnel. “The OROP was implemented by the BJP while the Congress never did so. Retired personnel across India have got ₹1 lakh crore after the launch of this scheme while in Rewari alone ₹600 crore has been distributed under OROP,” he said.

He attacked the Congress track record of governance and said that it only worked for the benefit of one family. “The Congress track record is of historic scams. The Congress track record is to fuel terrorism and separatism. The Congress track record is to weaken the Army and soldiers. This is important to remember because even today their team is the same, their leaders are the same, their intent is the same and all of their dedication is for one family alone,” Modi said.

The Congress, meanwhile, refuted the PM’s allegations and said that BJP government in Haryana had failed to deliver on any of the promises and guarantees.

Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, president of Congress OBC cell and former Haryana finance minister, said that the AIIMS project has been inaugurated to please the voters ahead of general elections and it will be soon forgotten.

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