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BJP sloganeering provokes Cong. workers

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI DEC. 24. The bitterness in the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party camps over the Delhi Metro project hit a new low today when a large number of BJP workers attending the inauguration of the project at Seelampur station resorted to sloganeering provoking an angry retort from Congress councillors and workers.

The situation became both amusing and embarrassing as it all happened not only before the national political leaders and the media but also a large number of dignitaries from foreign countries.

Occasional cries of "Bharat Mata ki Jai'', "Jai Shri Ram'' and "Har Har Mahadev'' by the saffron-clad BJP workers -- who had been called to the function by the new Chairman of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and former Delhi Chief Minister, Madan Lal Khurana, became a bit too much for Congress workers when these supporters of Mr. Khurana started shouting pro-BJP slogans as the Prime Minister and other dignitaries reached the venue by the first Metro train.

With a few supporters in the rear galleries, the Congress councillors took upon themselves the onus of getting heard. And soon shouts of "Rajiv Gandhi zindabad'', "Sonia Gandhi zindabad'' and "Congress Party zindabad'' rent the air.

The manner in which the two groups engaged in a verbal duel appeared to cause greater concern to the foreign invitees than to the securitymen and mediapersons who took it all with a smile.

But it did not take long for them to realise that the issue of taking credit for success of the Metro project was much more deeprooted. Mr. Khurana used the occasion to claim that he was instrumental in getting the project moving -- something the Congress Government has disproved to good effect.

He also pointed out as to how the Delhi Government under him had allotted funds for the project in 1994 and subsequently under Sahib Singh Verma had started the process of land acquisition in 1995.

Stating that under Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi Government had only flagged off the project in 1998, he now demanded a proper integration of the bus, Metro and Ring Railway system as a means of providing an efficient transport system in Delhi.

Not one to let her opponents score brownie points, Ms Dikshit in her forthright address said that with the Metro, "Rajiv Gandhi's dream for Delhi in the 21st century has been realised''. She said "though it took a long time to plan the project, it took only four years (when her party was running the Delhi Government) to get the first section in operation.''

It was the Delhi Government's cooperation that did not allow any obstacles to come in the way of the project as it went about its job of relocating and rehabilitating those who had to be removed for constructing the project, Ms.Dikshit asserted.

Affirming that her Government will not budge when it comes to cooperating, she demanded that there should be no politicisation of the project.

Delhi's Lieutenant-Governor, Vijai Kapoor, sought to credit the Central leadership for the success of the Metro. He said that with the commissioning of the Metro, a concept which Delhi had dreamt of since the 1950s, has become a reality.

"For 40 years feasibility studies were carried out but it was only in 1995 that DMRC was formed and problems at ground level were overcome through the intervention by Group of Minister, headed by Mr Advani.''

The GoM, he said, had also approved the 23.1-km Barakhamba Road-Dwarka corridor after the Union Government declared Excise and Custom duty waivers of Rs 1,400 crores and Rs 400 crore was waived in Sales Tax by the Delhi Government.

Though the construction of the Metro was delayed by a few years and could only be taken up on October 1, 1998, he said this delay has been absorbed in the total project time.

Still, carefully wording his speech, Mr Kapoor described the Metro as a beautiful example of Centre-State coordination. He said the Metro will be not just another mode of transport but also catalyse urban development wherever it goes. In this regard he also called for increasing the floor area ratios in areas near the Metro corridors.

Giving due credit for the implementation of the project to Mr. Sreedharan and his team, Mr Kapoor also thanked the Japanese Government for financing the project through its Overseas Development Assistance and ensuring its progress without stoppages.

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