Claims of bullet trains helping Karnataka a blatant lie: Congress

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Sunday slammed Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s statement that bullet trains would benefit Karnataka as a “blatant lie”. 

In a press statement, KPCC media and communication department chairperson Ramesh Babu said only two of the projects announced in the budget passed through Karnataka (Bengaluru-Chennai and Bengaluru-Hyderabad).

"Projects like Ahmedabad–Mumbai, Delhi–Varanasi and Mumbai–Nagpur do not include Karnataka in any manner. In such a situation, claiming benefits to Karnataka is false propaganda and insult to intelligence of Kannadigas," Babu, an MLC, said.

Claiming several major railway projects proposed during the tenure of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s tenure as railway minister had not been implemented by the Centre, he felt Karnataka had been “systematically neglected”.

He took exception to Minister of State for Railways V Somanna’s absence in Saturday’s press conference, saying it exposed "BJP’s internal groupism". 

“Somanna, who represents Karnataka, was deliberately not invited. This is not mere procedural lapse. It exposes BJP’s internal groupism and deliberate sidelining of Karnataka leaders". 

Babu urged Vaishnaw to issue an apology to the people of Karnataka.