Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several projects in Maharashtra, worth over Rs 11,200 crore, via video conferencing.

During the virtual event, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of these developments in boosting urban infrastructure and enhancing the ease of living in the state. His scheduled visit to Pune on September 26 was canceled due to heavy rainfall in the city.

PM Modi expressed satisfaction over the rapid progress in Pune and its surroundings, particularly with the inauguration of the Pune Metro section between District Court and Swargate.

He also laid the foundation stone for the Swargate-Katraj extension, a significant part of Pune Metro’s Phase-1, while emphasising that these projects will reduce travel time and improve public transport in the city.

Announcing the opening of Solapur Airport, which will improve connectivity for both tourists and businesses, Modi stressed that the upgraded facilities at the airport will enhance convenience for devotees of Bhagwan Vitthal and boost the region’s economy by attracting business and tourism.

The PM also highlighted the dedication of the Bidkin Industrial Area, part of the Auric City under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. PM Modi praised the double-engine government in Maharashtra, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, for reviving the project, which had previously faced delays. The industrial area, spread across 8,000 acres, is expected to bring significant investments and create numerous jobs, further contributing to Maharashtra’s economic growth.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for a memorial at Bhidewada in honor of Savitribai Phule, who opened India’s first girls’ school. The memorial will include a skill development center and other facilities aimed at empowering women and preserving Phule’s legacy. Modi underscored the pivotal role women have played in shaping Indian society, particularly in overcoming barriers to education and empowerment.

In his speech, PM Modi touched upon the importance of modernization balanced with India’s cultural values, emphasizing that Maharashtra needs to aim for big goals to drive progress. He also reiterated the government’s focus on women’s empowerment, referring to initiatives such as Swachh Bharat, which have helped reduce school dropout rates for girls.

Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot on Sunday said he sees Rahul Gandhi as a leader who will lead the country in future and the entire Opposition will stand unitedly behind him when the next Lok Sabha elections happen.

In an interview with PTI, Pilot said Gandhi, following the historic Bharat Jodo Yatras and a good result for the Congress, has taken the Centre to task with the BJP-led government “failing on all fronts”.

Asked about the impact of Gandhi assuming the charge of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Pilot said, “Rahul Gandhi has led from the front as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. He is asking pertinent questions for which the government has no answers.” He is not just the LoP for the Congress but for the entire Opposition, he added.

“It is a constitutional position that comes with a lot of responsibility. Gandhi has been very vociferous in raising issues that matter to the people and the government has been caught on the backfoot because they don’t know how to respond. They are forced to take U-turns as the government is not able to provide satisfactory answers,” the former Union Minister said.

The government is proposing agendas and withdrawing agendas, he said, alleging that the BJP-led government at the Centre is “failing on all fronts”.

“Of course, we all see him as a leader who will lead the country and when the next elections happen, the people of India and the entire opposition will stand unitedly behind Rahul Gandhi,” Pilot said.

He said the government has had to take steps back since the Lok Sabha polls, be it the issue of lateral entry in the civil services or the Waqf board bill.

There was a sense of arrogance and domination with which the central government operated for the last 10 years, but now there is a huge change and people of India have given a stern and sobering message in this general election, the former Union leader said.

People have more faith in the Opposition than in the incumbent government and the BJP realises that, the 47-year-old leader said.

“In Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, we will have a resounding victory and the next two states that follow — Maharashtra and Jharkhand — the INDIA bloc is very strongly placed,” he said.

Gandhi, who has been an MP for five terms and currently represents the Rae Bareli constituency previously held by his mother Sonia Gandhi, assumed the mantle of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha in June after the general elections.

He won from two constituencies in the polls but vacated the Wayanad seat in Kerala, from where his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest a bypoll.

Gandhi entered the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2004 following his victory from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday expressed his sorrow over the death of 9 persons after a horrific collision between a truck and a passenger bus in Maihar district late last night.

According to police, nearly 20 persons were also injured after the bus rammed into a stationary stone-laden truck in Maihar at around 11 pm on Saturday.

The Chief Minister said that the news of untimely death of 10 passengers due to a horrific collision between a truck and a passenger bus of Uttar Pradesh in Maihar district of Madhya Pradesh is extremely sad and heart-rending.

In a post on X, he said, “I pray to Baba Mahakal to give place to the holy souls of the deceased in his lotus feet and for the speedy recovery of the injured. We are all with the bereaved families in this hour of grief.”

Meanwhile, in another post on X, he said: “In this horrific road accident, 9 passengers have been confirmed dead while one is in a very critical condition. Most of the passengers are from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. I pray to Almighty God that all the injured get quick recovery.”

CM Yadav has directed the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured and said the families of the deceased will be provided financial assistance by the government as per rules.

The accident took place on National Highway number 30, about 25 km from the district headquarters, as per police.

The bus was heading for Nagpur via Rewa after starting from Prayagraj when it crashed near the Nadan Dehat police station, Maihar Superintendent of Police (SP) Sudhir Agrawal told PTI.

While six fatalities were reported earlier, three more persons succumbed to injuries in a hospital, taking the death toll to nine, he said.

The deceased, all male, included a four-year-old boy, the police said. The injured persons have been admitted to different hospitals, including in Rewa, Agrawal said.

Rescue teams had to use a gas cutter and an excavator machine to make way through the wrecked bus to pull out the passengers, he said.

The rescue operation was wrapped up at around 2 am on Sunday, according to police.