Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Sunday after the long wait of 54 years.
While addressing the gathering during the inauguration ceremony, Modi said that this is the first project in the entire world which has faced so many hurdles before its completion. Indirectly attacking the opposition party he added that despite all the troubles and people plotting conspiracies to stop the project, the engineering miracle has been completed.
Sunday the inauguration day of the dam also happened to be the 67th birthday of the Prime Minister. During the speech, he said that “Many false allegations were hurled on us. Many people conspired to stop this project. But we were determined not to take make it a political battle.” He further added that he has all the names and details of the people involved behind conspiring against the project. “I have knowledge (‘kacha chittha’) of everyone who tried to stall this project, but I will not name them as I do not want to go on that route,” Modi said.
Further giving the details of the hurdles faced to complete the project Modi said that earlier the World Bank who had agreed to fund the project, later denied on the grounds of environmental concerns. He further proudly boasted that with or without the help of the world Bank his government has been successful in completing the project.
Meanwhile, the opposition attacking Modi over his comments said that the inauguration was nothing but an election gimmick. The party’s media in-charge Randeep Surjewala said that “Modi had indulged in the misconceived electoral hype, hyperbole and hoopla by yet again inaugurating the Sardar Sarovar Dam”.
He further alleged that by inaugurating the World’s second largest dam, Modi is using the occasion in his favor making it a political move ahead of the Gujarat assembly polls in Dec and Lok Sabha polls in 2019. He said that dam was built with the efforts of Congress and the people of Gujarat, but Modi had made it the centerpiece of BJP’s Gujarat Model.
He added that this is the only project which will actually help in improving the condition of the people when the project is actually completed. Rest all the projects of BJP announced in Gujarat were a fake doublespeak, fallaciousness and falsehood. He also said that the BJP was ruling Gujarat from past 22 years but was not even able to finish 20% of the canal network, creating minors and sub-minors, has been completed.
Surjewala further criticising the Modi government said that it had failed to establish a proper network for the project. He said that the dam reservoir had plenty of water stored, but it was not helpful as it was not reaching the needy farmers due to the absence of canal network. The opposition spokesperson accused the government of failing to accomplish the main motive behind the entire project.
He said that the Narmada Project still after 22 years remains incomplete under the BJP ruled government at the state, out of which Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 14 years. He further gave the information that from the time in 1961 when Jawaharlal Nehru had laid the foundation of the project till 1987 when the construction work was stopped for environmental reasons, there were multiple roadblocks but Congress under the leadership if the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had cleared all blockades and 90% of the work was approved for completion.
Congress party also to further hit on Modi for taking the credit for the completion of the project published a twitter poll on the party handle.
Which Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Sardar Sarovar Dam project? #KnowYourLegacy
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 18, 2017
Surjewala further questioned the Modi government whether Modi will apologise to farmers for failing to make the water irrigate 19 lakh hectares of land as promised, which was only 3 lakh hectare for the time being. He alleged that since the state is soon going to be poll-bound as the assembly elections are approaching in Dec, BJP under the leadership of Prime Miniter Narendra Modi had used the Sardar Sarovar Dam Project in the party’s favour to woo in the votes.
He also pointed out that BJP has launched another yatra: Narmada Mahotsav Yatra, to which the people of Gujarat have responded negatively by strongly rejecting it and staging protest throughout the route. “This is a befitting reply that the people of Gujarat – especially the farmers – are giving to the BJP for its unpardonable apathy and non-performance,” he said.