The Congress on Friday said the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) is a powerful example of continuity in governance which it claimed is "consistently denied" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his "perennial desire for self-glory".
The opposition party’s assertion came on the day Prime Minister Modi is set to inaugurate the USBRL — a 272-km long rail link built at a cost of Rs 43,780 crore, traversing through the rugged terrain of the Himalayas.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, in a detailed statement, said that governance involves great continuity, a fact he alleged is consistently denied by the Prime Minister in his relentless pursuit of self-glorification.
He underlined that this reality becomes most evident in the implementation of extraordinarily challenging developmental projects like the USBRL.
Ramesh said the USBRL was initially sanctioned in March 1995 when P.V. Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister.
"In March 2002, it was declared as a national project when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. Subsequently, on April 13, 2005, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the 53 km rail link between Jammu and Udhampur," he said.
Ramesh further pointed out that on October 11, 2008 Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the 66 km rail link between Anantnag and Mazhom outside Srinagar.
On February 14, 2009, Prime Minister Singh inaugurated the 31 km rail link between Mazhom outside Srinagar and Baramulla, he said.
"On October 29, 2009, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the 18 km rail link between Anantnag and Qazigund. On June 26, 2013, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the 11 km Qazigund to Banihal rail link," he said.
This meant that by June 26, 2013 the 135 km rail link between Baramulla and Qazigund had become operational, Ramesh added.
Ramesh pointed out that the 25 km rail link between Udhampur and Katra was also ready for inauguration in 2014, but it was postponed due to the enforcement of the election code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections.
It was subsequently inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on July 4, 2014 — just 39 days after assuming office.
He further pointed out that since 2014, the 111 km Katra-Banihal stretch, for which major contracts had been awarded much earlier, has been completed.
For instance, contracts for the iconic Chenab Bridge had been awarded by 2005 itself to the Konkan Railway Corporation, Afcons, VSK India, and Ultra Construction and Engineering Ltd of South Korea, Ramesh said.
The Congress, in its statement, extended greetings to the people of Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion and congratulated the personnel of the Indian Railways, as well as the public and private companies involved in the execution of the USBRL over the past thirty years.
Ramesh said the successful completion of the USBRL reflects a collective resolve and achievement in the face of the gravest odds.
Posting his statement on X, the Congress leader wrote, “As the PM visits J&K today, here is our statement on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) that, like Brahmos, is a powerful example of continuity in governance which he never acknowledges but cannot run away from.”
With inputs from PTI
