SHILLONG: Stage is set for the ‘symbolic’ flagging off the first train in Meghalaya on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the train from Mendipathar to Guwahati digitally from Maligaon Railway stadium in Guwahati amidst the presence Meghalaya and Assam chief ministers Mukul Sangma and Tarun Gogoi respectively besides others.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju will also witness the historic occasion.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone of a new broadgauge line from Bhairabi to Sairang, Mizoram.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla will also be present on the occasion.
In Mendipathar, the State Transport Minister HDR Lyngdoh, Chief Secretary Barkos Warjri and Additional Chief Secretary Y Tsering among others will be present when Modi addresses the people of Garo Hills through video conferencing.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister told reporters on Friday that the actual journey of the train would start only after the installation of entry and exit points at Mendipathar railway station. The installation of entry and exit points is a part of the State government’s proposed mechanism to check influx.
“This will also help us in attending to many things concerning the safety of the railway”, he said.
Elaborate arrangements have been made jointly by the State Government and Railway ministry for the audience in Mendipathar to listen to the speech of Prime Minister during the flagging off ceremony of the first train.
Rail line to bridge Modi-Mukul gap
SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who had once said Narendra Modi would never become the prime minister, is all set to break the ice as he meets him for the first time after the latter took over the reins of the country during the flagging off the first passenger train from Mendipathar to Guwahati on Saturday.
In the past, Sangma had criticized Modi on several occasions including during election campaigns.
Modi had come under criticism during a meeting of NRIs in Delhi in early part of this year which was also attended by Sangma.
In January this year during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas function held in Delhi, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that better times were ahead for India.
However, Modi, who was the Gujarat Chief Minister then, in his speech criticized the Centre and said that better times would come after elections when a Government led by him would be installed.
In reaction, Mukul Sangma, while addressing the gathering, said that for better days ahead, the foundation was laid bythe Congress leaders who had great visions.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister, however, made light of all these.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Sangma said, “During elections, political parties are forced to pursue their own political ideology and principles based on which you seek the support and mandate of the people.”
“After the mandate when responsibilities are bestowed, everybody has to fulfill his or her responsibility,” he said.
To a question why he did not meet Modi till date, Sangma said there should be some specific reasons to meet the Prime Minister. “When I am required to meet him, I will seek an appointment and meet”, he said.
In fact, Sangma and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee are the only two chief ministers who have not met Modi after the BJP-led NDA came to power.
According to the Chief Minister, “There has to be some specific reasons to meet (the prime minister). When I need to meet, I will ask for an appointment. You do not have to read it from a different perspective because the chief minister has to meet the prime minister and the prime minister has to give an audience to the chief minister”. “It is a question of not getting the right time. When I am free, the Prime Minister may not be free and be on tour,” he said.