Congress questions viability of bullet train, decision to have Ahmedabad as launch station

The Congress on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the launch of the bullet train and questioned him on its economic viability.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, while addressing the media here, even asserted that the Prime Minister should have laid the foundation in Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, and not in Ahmedabad, claiming that this decision was taken just to impress the people of Gujarat sin the wake of the forthcoming Assembly election in the state.

He further said that even the Rajdhani Express doesn't stop at so many places, where the bullet train is planned to stop and added that the Centre is just trying to fool the people.

"We are not against any project or development. But what is the motive behind this? This is not economically viable. If one lakh people travel by it everyday, then only the bullet train will be beneficial, otherwise it is a total loss,"

Kharge further said that when the project was started, it was worth Rs. 1,10,000 crore and in the next four-five years, it will be worth Rs. 1,30,000 crore.

Kharge even questioned Prime Minister Modi's claim and asked how the poor will get benefit from this, if the fare ranges from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000.

"How is the bullet train going to benefit the poor people if the fare ranges from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000? He is not paying attention to the derailments that are taking place in the country," he said.

Kharge said that the during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) the government had planned to join Ahmedabad with Pune via Mumbai and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government just removed Pune from that project.