Congress upset as Central Vista not named after Gandhi family: Anurag Thakur

PTI, Jun 5, 2021, 12:59 PM IST

New Delhi: The Congress is upset over the Central Vista project as it is not named after “Gandhi Family”, BJP leader and Union minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday, accusing the opposition party of hypocrisy as megaprojects of similar nature are underway in the states ruled by it.

Asserting that the Central Vista project belongs to the people of India, Thakur said it will shape the policies and programmes that will transform the lives of the poor and propel India as an economic powerhouse.

“Unlike in the Congress party, it is neither named nor owned by one ‘family’. I can understand the frustration of the Congress party as they have missed an opportunity to name it after the ‘Gandhi Family’. Congress leadership needs lessons in civics, the official residences and offices belong to the nation, not an individual,” he said.

Taking on Congress for its opposition to the project, the Minister of State for Finance asked party leader Rahul Gandhi that why did he not ask chief ministers of Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Congress-supported Maharashtra chief minister who have granted approval to the projects similar to Central Vista.

The minister, in a statement, claimed that the Congress-ruled Rajasthan government has given approval to reconstruction and infrastructure work to the tune of Rs 125 crore. The Maharashtra government is constructing a residential hostel facility at Nariman Point for its legislators worth Rs 900 crore, he added.

“The congress is in the business of peddling false narratives which fall like a pack of cards when presented with transparent facts. The demand for a new Parliament building arose decades ago; in 2012 Jairam Ramesh wrote a letter regarding this. The flip flop and hypocrisy of the Congress leadership is evident in full display,” Thakur said.

Welcoming the Delhi High Court’s decision to dismiss a plea to halt Central Vista work amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hamirpur MP said projects of national importance were delayed for decades during the Congress rule, but “this is Modi era” and the Union government has not only completed old ones but also delivered new projects much before the deadline.

The Central Vista project aims to redevelop a 3.2-km stretch, called the Central Vista, that lies at the heart of Lutyens’ zone in Delhi built by the Britishers in the 1930s. The project involves demolishing and rebuilding several government buildings, including iconic landmarks, and constructing a new Parliament building.