He Congress He on Tuesday criticized the Center for the “delay” in the construction of the Beed-Ahmednagar railway line in Maharashtra amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in 2024, PTI reported.
The Congress questioned why the crucial Beed-Ahmednagar railway line project has been languishing for 10 years.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his rallies in Beed and Ahmednagar, according to PTI.
“Will the Beed-Ahmednagar railway line ever be completed? Why has the BJP ignored the Dhangar community’s demand for ST status? Did PM Modi hand over a jumla to Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj?” Ramesh said in a post on X.
Ramesh, elaborating on what he said were “jumla details”, said the Beed-Ahmednagar railway line has been languishing for 10 years.
“Residents of Beed have been eagerly awaiting this project and the education and employment opportunities it would open up for them. When the BJP came to power in 2014, this crucial project was chosen to be directly overseen by the Prime Minister’s Office. However, In the following five years no work was done,” he stated.
Today’s questions for Prime Minister’s visits to Beed and Ahmednagar:
1. Will the Beed-Ahmednagar railway line be completed one day?
2. Why has the BJP ignored the Dhangar community’s demand for ST status?
3. Did PM Modi present a jumla to Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj?
Details of Jumla… pic.twitter.com/fP8UwwmXdT
-Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 7, 2024
Before the 2019 elections, a senior railway official said the line would be completed by March 2020, but that deadline has also passed, Jairam Ramesh said.
“Now, the Central Railway has set a revised deadline of 2025-26. Why has this project been stalled for so long, even after receiving support from the PMO? What is the Prime Minister doing to ensure that this project meet its latest deadline?” he said, according to PTI.
The Dhangar community, which constitutes about 9 per cent of Maharashtra’s population, has been demanding ST status for years, but in vain, he said.
“The effects of caste-based marginalization are evident from the poor performance of the Dhangars on the Human Development Index indicators, but they have not received support from the Mahayuti government,” he said.
Last year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde made “vague commitments” on studying other states’ methodologies to address their reservation demands, but no significant progress has been made, he claimed, according to PTI.
“In the Congress Party’s 2024 Nyay Patra, we promised to conduct a nationwide caste census to ensure that all backward communities in India can access the opportunities they deserve. What is the Prime Minister doing to ensure the well-being of the Dhangar community? he said.
Why did the BJP and its allies ignore the plight of the Dhangars, asked Jairam Ramesh.
Jairam Ramesh also said that seven years ago, the prime minister laid the foundation stone of a 696-foot statue of Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai.
“Since then, his government has quietly abandoned it. Can the Prime Minister clarify whether his government will ever go ahead with the project? What hopes can Indians have from a man who has given jumlas even to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?” the Congress leader said, the news agency reported on Tuesday.
(with PTI inputs)