Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | 'Water scarcity, rail infrastructure': Congress' posers to PM ahead of his Nanded, Akola visit

New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nanded and Akola in poll-bound Maharashtra, the Congress on Saturday posed questions to him on his vision for the Marathwada region including his solution for water scarcity and inadequate rail infrastructure.

"The non-biological PM is in Nanded and Akola today. Four questions for him - Where does the BJP stand on the issue of a caste census and raising the cap of 50% once 50 percent cap reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs imposed by the Supreme Court?" Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

He claimed the Congress government in neighbouring Telangana is starting its door-to-door caste survey on Saturday and will cover 1.17 crore households.

"Meanwhile, the non-biological PM will be in Vidarbha - which has played such a central role in the struggle for social justice in the country - and will likely be entirely silent on the pressing issue of a caste census and the raising of the cap of 50% on reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs. Why is the non-biological PM so silent? What is he afraid of?" he asked.

The Congress leader also asked whether the PM will deliver on his promise to put the BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan in jail.

Ramesh said while campaigning in Nanded on March 30, 2014, Modi had announced he would send Ashok Chavan to jail "within six months" if he became PM.

Ten years later, Ashok Chavan has joined the BJP and been rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat. His daughter is now a BJP contestant from the Bhokar assembly seat, he noted.

"Will this prove to be a promise delayed but not denied - or has the BJP Washing Machine cleared Mr. Chavan of any alleged wrongdoing?" Ramesh asked.

The Congress leader also asked why has the Indian Railways performed so poorly in the Nanded division.

The Congress leader said the railway infrastructure in the Nanded division, which serves many areas in Marathwada, has been subjected to blatant neglect by the Modi government.

According to data furnished by the South Central Railway (SCR) in 2021, Nanded only has 35 km of route electrification and only 83 km of track-doubling. This puts it at the bottom in terms of electrification and only marginally ahead of the bottom in track-doubling compared to other SCR divisions, Ramesh said.

Additionally, it is the only division in its zone that still has 130 km of colonial-era meter-gauge tracks, he claimed.

"Every election season, Mr. Modi is happy to come to Marathwada and ask for votes but the area never sees the progress and development that he speaks of. Why has crucial railway infrastructure been neglected in Nanded? Does the non-biological PM have any real vision for bringing development to the Marathwada region? "What is Mr. Modi's vision to address water scarcity in Marathwada," Ramesh also asked.

In 2019, he said, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis promised a 20,000 to 25,000 crore package to build a water grid from Marathwada that would supply piped drinking water to every village.

Summer this year marked five years of this promise -- and it was one of the most water-scarce years that Marathwada has faced, the former Union minister said.

He claimed that more than 600 villages and 178 hamlets in Marathwada were dependent on water tankers.

"Only 19% drinking water was left in reservoirs. What has the BJP done to tackle water scarcity in Marathwada? Will the non-biological PM ever take responsibility for his and his party's failures?" Ramesh asked.

Campaigning in Maharashtra has picked up for the November 20 assembly polls in which the opposition INDIA bloc under MVA is seeking to wrest power from the ruling Mahayuti.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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