New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned about Haridaspur-Paradip railway project during his reply to motion of thanks on President’s address in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
“The project was approved in 1996. After being stuck for decades, it completed in 2019 under our tenure,” he said, while stressing that the BJP gave alternate model of governance, where nation comes first.
Reaffirming his government’s commitment to inclusive growth, the PM said that people of the nation have tested, understood and supported this model of development.
He further emphasised that “satisfaction” and “not appeasement” was his government’s motto. “If you study Congress, you will understand their politics. While our core mantra has always been ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, theirs has always been about diminishing others’ achievements. Because of this, they destabilized governments. Whenever any political party formed a government, they worked to destabilize it by making others’ efforts seem insignificant…,” he said while urging the opposition to introspect and help India’s growth story.
The then railway minister Nitish Kumar had laid foundation stone of 82-km Haridaspur-Paradip railway line, on April 4, 1999 near Marshaghai in Kendrapara district, and it was to be completed by 2004. The railway line, however, was commissioned in 2020 after much delay due to alleged allocation of meagre funds.
On March 2024, the PM had also flagged off the first passenger train on this rail line on March 2024, following which Kendrapada district got a passenger train for the first time. The railway line passes through Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts.
During his speech in the Upper House, Modi also recalled how people’s right to expression was forcibly curbed during Congress’s rule. “It’s about time we acknowledge that the Congress party thrives on silencing dissent! The hypocrisy runs deep—while they preach freedom, they stifle voices that challenge their narrative,” he said.
He referred to the arrests of poet Majrooh Sultanpuri and actor Balraj Sahni and the ban on Dev Anand’s films on Doordarshan during the Emergency period. “During Nehru’s tenure, a workers’ strike was held in Mumbai. During that strike, the famous poet Majrooh Sultanpuri recited a poem. After that, he was put in jail. Famous actor Balraj Sahni was also jailed only because he participated in a protest. Hridaynath Mangeshkar had written a poem on Veer Savarkar and wanted to sing it on Akashvani but was banned from Akashvani for life,” PM Modi said.
