Shiv Sena says bullet train is dream of the rich

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 14

Hitting out at the proposed bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna said cash-starved Maharashtra has been forced to shell out Rs 30,000 crore to satisfy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of keeping the rich happy.

“The prime minister’s dream is not for the common man, but for the wealthy and the business class,” the Saamna editorial said.

The newspaper pointed out that Mumbai’s local trains which transport lakhs of people to their places of work every day were packed to capacity but got little attention from the Central Government.

“Even as Mumbai local trains suffer daily, a bullet train will be running between Ahmedabad and Mumbai,” the edit said.

The newspaper also demolished claims that the bullet train project would generate employment.

“Everything form the tracks to screws to labourers will come from Japan. While the land and money for the
bullet train will come from Gujarat and Maharashtra, the profits will go to Japan … (Though) this is loot, we are congratulating the prime minister for this project,” Saamna added.

According to the newspaper, the bullet train project will cost the nation Rs 108,000 crore.

It further added the Piyush Goyal, BJP’s treasurer, was made railway minister specifically to oversee this project.