Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted the central government’s commitment to the development of tribals, poor, Dalits, women, and youths, highlighting the launch of several schemes aimed at benefiting these groups.

He expressed optimism about Jharkhand’s rapid growth through the implementation of these projects, noting that the state, which had been lagging in development, is now set to progress.

While virtually addressing the audience gathered at Tatanagar for the inauguration of Vande Bharat trains and multiple initiatives, the Prime Minister acknowledged the impact of the bad weather which prevented his arrival in Tatanagar by apologizing for not being able to reach the location.

He emphasised the significance of rail and other projects in fostering industrial, tourist, economic, and overall developmental growth in the eastern region.

Modi highlighted the increased investment by the Centre for the development of Jharkhand, citing an allocation of Rs 7,000 crore for railway infrastructure development, which marked a 16-fold increase compared to the budget of the past 10 years.

Furthermore, he pointed out that Jharkhand has achieved 100% electrification of its railway network and mentioned the transformation of over 50 railway stations in the state under the Amrit Bharat Station Yojana.

Additionally, six Vande Bharat trains for Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh were virtually flagged off by the Prime Minister at Ranchi, with the presence of Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Annapurna Devi, Sanjay Seth, and Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar at the Tatanagar station.

Meanwhile, Congress slammed PM Modi and said, “Why are people of Jamshedpur still facing the problem of poor connectivity?” Despite being an industrial hub, Jamshedpur suffers from poor transport connectivity, it added.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the number of trains running to major cities like Bhagalpur, Bengaluru and Delhi is not adequate. The city had a functional airport till 2016 but despite joining the UDAN scheme in 2018, the plan for a new airport did not materialise, he added.

“An MoU was signed between the Jharkhand government and the Airports Authority of India in January 2019 to build the Dhalbhumgarh airport by December 2022. This will give a good boost to MSMEs in Adityapur, including major players in the industrial sector like Tata. When the work did not happen by the December 2022 deadline, the BJP’s own MPs were forced to raise the issue in Parliament,” he charged.

On February 27, 2023, the Union Civil Aviation Minister responded and confirmed that the project had been abandoned, Ramesh said. “Now, after a lot of hard work, environmental clearances seem to be coming. Why did the central government ignore such a vital infrastructure in Jharkhand? What happened to “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”?” he asked.

After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Sunday asserted that he will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister only if the public approves his honesty.

The former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia said that he has also decided to go to the public court along with AAP supremo Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

“I have also decided that I will go to the public court along with Arvind Kejriwal ji and ask whether the public considers me honest or not,” Sisodia said in his post on X.

In a major move on Sunday, Kejriwal announced that he will resign as the Delhi Chief Minister in the next two or three days and asserted that he won’t hold the position of CM, until the people of Delhi declare him honest.

Joining AAP supremo in his honesty test, Sisodia said that he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education. “For 10 years, I worked honestly as Delhi’s Education Minister and built schools and new universities,” Sisodia said.

As the Education Minister of Delhi, Sisodia said, he worked with the mantra that India cannot become a developed nation without providing the best education in government schools.

The result of ten years of hard work is visible that today even in the government schools of Delhi, children are studying brilliantly and topping exams like IIT, JEE, NEET, the senior AAP leader said.

After being in jail for 17 months in the money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam, Sisodia said that despite being honest attempts were made to prove him dishonest by making false allegations against him under petty politics.

“After two years of legal process, now even the country’s top court has told me to go and do my work. But I will not sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister right now”, he said.

The AAP leader said that he did not join politics for the greed of chairs and posts, instead, he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education.

“Elections are to be held in three to four months. Only if the public approves my honesty, I will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister and work for education,” AAP leader Sisodia said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday virtually launched various projects worth Rs 660 crore from Ranchi in Jharkhand.

These include laying the foundation stone for the Madhupur bypass line in Deoghar district and the Hazaribag town coaching depot. “The depot will help start several new trains and services,” Modi said.

He also dedicated to the nation doubling of the Kurkura-Kanaroan line, which is a part of the Bondamunda-Ranchi single-line section and the Rourkela-Gomoh route via Ranchi, Muri and Chandrapura stations.

The project will help in increased mobility of goods and passenger traffic. Besides, the PM also launched four road-under-bridges (RUBs).

“The work of laying railway lines, doubling of these and developing modern facilities at railway stations are underway at a fast pace in Jharkhand,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister also virtually distributed sanction letters to 32,000 beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) and released first instalment of  Rs 32 crore for the construction of houses.

PM Moid also virtually handed over keys to 46,000 beneficiaries of PMAY-G across the country. The Centre has approved 1,13,400 houses for the poor in Jharkhand under the PMAY-G scheme, PTI reported.

Addressing a gathering virtually, Modi congratulated the people of Jharkhand for these projects.

PM Modi said: “There was a time when modern development was limited to certain cities of the country. States like Jharkhand lagged in terms of modern development. But the approach of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ has changed the mentality of the country. Now the poor, Adivasi and Dalits are the priority of our nation. Women, farmers and youth are a priority”

He said that the whole region will develop with the expansion of rail services in Eastern India.

“The budget for railway development for Jharkhand is Rs. 7000 crores. If we compare this to the budget 10 years ago, it is 16 times more,” PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister is on a three-day visit to Jharkhand, Gujarat and Odisha beginning Sunday during which he is scheduled to lay the foundation stones and launch projects worth more than Rs 12,460 crore.