Rahul slams government over corrupt practices in Pragati Maidan tunnel project: ‘Amrit kaal’ prevailing

PTI, Feb 10, 2024, 2:47 PM IST

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the Modi government over alleged ”glaring infirmities” in the Pragati Maidan tunnel project, saying the ‘Amrit Kaal’ of the corrupt is prevailing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on June 19, 2022, inaugurated the 1.3-km-long tunnel and five underpasses as part of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project that aims to ease connectivity between central Delhi with the eastern parts of the city and the satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad.

The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) has issued a notice to Larsen and Toubro over the alleged ”glaring infirmities” in the project while demanding a ”token amount” of Rs 500 crore from the firm and directing it to immediately initiate repair work. Larsen and Toubro has said that they have made a counterclaim of Rs 500 crore against the PWD.

In a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi said, ”The ‘Amrit Kaal’ of the corrupt is prevailing in the country.” ”The Pragati Maidan Tunnel, built at a cost of Rs 777 crore, became unusable in just one year. The prime minister is doing ‘modeling’ instead of ‘planning’ on every development project,” he said.

”And ED, CBI, IT are not fighting corruption but democracy,” the former Congress chief said and shared a photo of Modi after the inauguration of the tunnel.