Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that while the world’s biggest economies are in turmoil, India is providing subsidies and free rations to over 80 crore citizens.
“Amid the global slowdown too, the country continues to invest in physical and social infrastructure, which shows that commitment of our ‘double-engine’ sarkar (government) towards providing better amenities to the poorest of the poor and development of the nation,” Mr. Modi said.
He was speaking from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) Grounds at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, where he inaugurated two new Mumbai Metro lines — Line 2A (Dahisar to Andheri West D.N. Nagar) and Line 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East) worth ₹12,600 crore, PM SAVNidhi Yojana; and 20 ‘Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana’ clinics.
Mr. Modi also laid foundation stones for concretisation of roads; seven sewage treatment plants to be built at a cost of ₹17,200 crore; and the redevelopment of three hospitals — a 360-bed Bandhup multi-speciality municipal hospital, a 306-bed hospital in Goregaon (West), and a 152-bed maternity home in Oshiwara.
The PM also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, which aims at decongesting the southern heritage node of the terminus, and conservation and restoration of the iconic British-era structure.
Lauding development in the country’s financial capital, Mr. Modi said he has confidence in the jodi of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Davendra Fadnavis. “They will make the dreams of citizens of Mumbai come true. They will change the face of Mumbai and there will be a complete makeover in the future,” he said.
The alliance government led by Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis is expected to use the Prime Minister’s Thursday visit as an opportunity to gain power in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) civic body elections to end the monopoly of the Uddhav Thackery-led Shiv Sena.
All three leaders — Mr. Modi, Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis — in their speeches took a veiled dig at the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, and said Mumbai had developed during the “double-engine government”.
“Development of Mumbai was stalled for a while [during the MVA government], but it will continue at a brisk pace now,” Mr. Modi said, adding that work was being carried out on a mission mode to expand the Indian Railways network and Mumbai would benefit from it.
He said that several cities across the country were going to power the growth story of India. “Therefore, making Mumbai future ready is one of the commitments of the double-engine government,” he said.
“First time after Independence, India has been dreaming big and is daring to fulfil those dreams. There is a lot of hope and so much positivity about India across the world,” Mr. Modi said. “Today, everyone feels that India is doing something essential for rapid development and prosperity. We are full of unprecedented confidence. With the inspiration of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, sense of swaraj and suraaj reflects on the double-engine government of today’s India.”
“We have seen the time when the money for the poor’s welfare used to fall prey to corruption. There was no sensitivity regarding tax received from the taxpayers. Crores of citizens had to bear its loss,” Mr. Modi said, adding, “In the last eight years, we have changed this approach. Today, India is spending on its physical and social infrastructure with futuristic thinking and modern approach in mind.”
Earlier, Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis claimed that no major development works were taken up in the previous MVA government, but the current government was undertaking development projects. “We are committed to the welfare of people. What couldn’t have happened in the past 20-25 years, happened in just six months of us in power,” Mr. Shinde said.
He expressed confidence that the alliance of the ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ led by him and the BJP will win the upcoming Mumbai civic polls and there will be a “triple-engine government” in the State capital.
Later, Mr. Modi travelled in the newly-inaugurated metro rail.
