Railway investment in Gujarat grew 5-fold in 2014-19: Sinha

Gandhinagar: Average capital investment in railway projects in Gujarat grew over five times under the Modi government compared to the previous UPA government, said junior Railway Minister Manoj Sinha Wednesday.

Average capital investment was Rs 3,327 crore per year between 2014-19 in Gujarat compared to Rs 589 crore a year in the previous five years, said the Minister of State for Railways.

Sinha, who was here to address a BJP event, exuded confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "there is nobody in a position to challenge him." 

He termed the anti-BJP coalition being forged by the opposition as "unprincipled, negative".

Reacting to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed on February 14, Sinha said, "The country trusts its prime minister and the government will not let their sacrifice go waste." 

"In terms of capital investment in Railways, Gujarat has seen average investment of Rs 3,327 crore per year between 2014-19, compared to Rs 589 crore in 2009-14," he said.

He said most metre gauge lines have been converted to broad gauge and there will be no unmanned level crossings in the state after March 2019.

Sinha said railway stations at Gandhinagar and Surat were being developed as world-class stations and six others are being redeveloped.

As many as 82 new trains were started, nine trains extended, 40 additional stoppage made, among several other steps taken to strengthen rail services in Gujarat, he said.

"This Lok Sabh election is not about party but leader.

And there is nobody compared to our leader Narendra Modi in the country today," the BJP leader said.

Even in terms of performance of the last five years, "no past governments can stand in comparison", he said.

"We believe this is an unprincipled, negative coalition, where ambition of the leaders rule high, whether he be the `shahzada' of Congress, didi of Bengal, behenji of Uttar Pradesh, or babu of Andhra Pradesh," he said when asked about the opposition's `maha-gathbandhan' efforts.

"The people of the country want a decisive government and we see getting a bigger majority compared to last time," Sinha said.

On oppositions claims of lack of job creation, Sinha said no definitive figure has been released by the central government to back the claim.

"Some people have taken the contract of lying to the country, but they cannot mislead the country through their repeated lies," Sinha said.

"We all know that government jobs are limited. And vacancies in the government are advertised and filled.

"Government has made many efforts to create jobs through Skill India and Mudra Bank Yojana. Infrastructure projects have grown which have also certainly created jobs," the minister said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.