Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Sunday slammed the Congress President for insulting India's intelligence and hardwork by mocking the initiative.
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi over his dig at the Make in India, Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Sunday slammed the Congress President for insulting India's intelligence and hardwork by mocking the initiative.
Vande Bharat Express aka Train 18 completed its first commercial run on Sunday, Goyal said that it is unfortunate to know that the Congress President has attacked a flagship programme which does not belong only to the BJP but to the millions of Indians.
After the semi-high speed train ran into trouble during its trial run early Saturday, Gandhi had tweeted, "Modi ji, I think Make in India needs a serious rethink. Most people feel it has failed. I assure you we in the Congress are thinking very deeply about how it will be done."
Talking to ANI, the senior BJP leader said that 'Make In India' programme is all about Indian technical knowledge, the efforts that our workers do to produce goods in India.
"I feel sorry that Rahul Gandhi hasn't recognised that for the 1st time India has indigenously developed a trainset which barely a few countries in the world made," he noted.
Goyal had also responded to Rahul Gandhi's tweet on Saturday, with his own tweet saying, "Such a shame that you choose to attack the hard work and ingenuity of Indian engineers, technicians and labourers. It is this mindset which needs a reset. 'Make In India' is a success and a part of crores of Indian lives. Your family had 6 decades to think, wasn't that enough?"
He then shared a Facebook post on Sunday and said Gandhi has "insulted" India's intelligence and the hardworking engineers of railways who have put in backbreaking effort to build the country's first indigenous semi-high speed train, the Vande Bharat Express.
"Somebody who was unable to explain why Engineers Day is celebrated, he insulted the hardworking engineers of railways who have put in backbreaking effort to build India's first indigenous semi-high speed train, the Vande Bharat Express. Rather than encouraging them, he has taunted them," he said.
"Vande Bharat Express is developed and designed in India whereas earlier designs (ICF, LHB) were imported. It costs less than half of the cost to import a similar train. It has set the highest standards in Railways & is already fully booked for the next two weeks," he said.
Train 18 or Vande Bharat Express had left Varanasi Junction for Delhi at 10:30 pm Friday and the train faced its first breakdown around 15 km from Tundla junction in Uttar Pradesh early morning next day. "It was a case of skidding wheels after the train ran over cattle," Northern Railway CPRO Deepak Kumar had told PTI.
Sources told PTI that the train remained stuck near Tundla for over an hour and the end coaches of the train made a rattling sound before it finally stopped.
However, Vande Bharat Express, India's first semi high-speed train Vande also known as Train 18, successfully completed its inaugural run from Delhi to Varanasi on Sunday.
(With PTI and ANI Inputs)
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