Launching a scathing attack on the Congress at the flagging off of the first Vande Bharat train of Madhya Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said, “There are some people, who have been trying to tarnish my image, have now decided that this would be the end of Modi.”
Addressing a gathering after a flag-off ceremony for the train from the Rani Kamlapati railway station of Bhopal to Hazrat Nizamuddin station in New Delhi at 4 pm on, Narendra Modi said it is the support of the poor, the farmers, the youth and all the people of India that such people (his opponents) are unsuccessful despite the connivance of many foreign forces too.
Targeting the Congress, Modi said it (the party) never cared about railways, which is still the main travel medium for the people of this country. Alleging that the Opposition party remained focused on just one family, he said it only indulged in politics of appeasement and selfish interest. He claimed that in the past the railways were infamous for several reasons only because of the apathetic attitude of the Congress.
The PM lamented that there was no railway network in north east India till 2014. It is the BJP Government that has provided a railway network in the north east and Kashmir.
Taking a jibe at the Congress, Modi quipped that today’s function on 1 April would have given the Opposition an opportunity to say that Modi will do an April Fool act. “However, you can see that the train has indeed run today,” he said with a smile on his face.
The prime minister described the Vande Bharat train as a symbol of vigour, hope and spirit of the developing India. He said the train is also a sign of increasing employment opportunities and advancing travel facilities for the common people.
Meanwhile, the police detained several Congress workers in the city who had planned to show black flags to the PM on his road route to the railway station in Bhopal.