Barmer refinery: PM Modi says Congress has a history of misleading people - Hindustan Times
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Barmer refinery: PM Modi says Congress has a history of misleading people

Hindustan Times, Jaipur | By
Jan 16, 2018 09:48 PM IST

Prime minister launches work commencement of Rs 43,129-crore refinery complex at Pachpadra in Rajasthan’s Barmer. It will be India’s first greenfield BS-VI petrochemical project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress saying that party has a history of misleading people by making grand announcements and laying foundation stones but not following through on project implementation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally in Barmer on Tuesday.(PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally in Barmer on Tuesday.(PTI)

Speaking after launching the “project commencement” of the Rs 43,129-crore refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Pachpadra in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, Modi said precedent is being set so that leaders could be held accountable for their announcements.

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“The project commencement of this refinery will now set a new precedent and create awareness among people. Now if any leader lays the foundation stone, people will ask when the project work will commence,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks the commencement of work of Rajasthan Refinery, in Barmer on Tuesday as Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries look on. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks the commencement of work of Rajasthan Refinery, in Barmer on Tuesday as Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries look on. (PTI)

The 9-metric tonne per annum refinery is a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and the Rajasthan government and has been billed as India’s first greenfield Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) petrochemical project.

The foundation stone for the project was first laid in September 2013 by the then ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi. However, the project remained a non-starter and the Vasundhara Raje government had subsequently cancelled the agreement with HPCL citing undue financial burden.

Modi said that HPCL officials have assured of commencing operations at the complex in 2022 to coincide with the nation’s 75th anniversary of Independence. Modi said the refinery will change the economy of the region in next five years. “Taqdeer or Tasveer dono badal jayegi,” he said.

“I invite experts to analyze the functioning of the previous Congress governments. They talked big and misled people. They have committed fraud with the nation. This is their nature, their functioning,” Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a tour of an exhibition on Barmer Refinery, in Barmer on Tuesday. Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are also seen. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a tour of an exhibition on Barmer Refinery, in Barmer on Tuesday. Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are also seen. (PTI)

The PM said that the Barmer refinery project “was just one example”. “In the past railway budgets, they misled the Parliament. There are more than 1,500 projects that they announced which remain only on paper,” Modi said.

Modi also attacked the Congress on one rank, one pension (OROP) for defence personnel.

“The Congress government allocated Rs 500 crore in the interim budget for OROP before 2014 elections for political mileage. That was a fraud just like the Barmer refinery stone,” he said adding that it took one-and-half-years to collate the list of beneficiaries of OROP. The final outlay was more than Rs 12,000 crore and of this, four instalments totalling Rs 10,700 crore have already been transferred into the beneficiaries’ accounts, he said.

The PM said that Congress just gave the slogan of ‘garibi hatao’ (remove poverty). “What have they got to show for it? Dig up ditches and take something home every evening. If they had cared for the poor, the poor would have been empowered and would have defeated poverty on their own” he said, claiming the BJP government has actually worked towards removing poverty and cited the example Ujjwala yojana and Jan Dhan accounts.

Modi said rural electrification work was on in full swing and only 2,000 villages remain to be electrified. “We will provide free electricity connections to 4 crore poor families by 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.

Chief minister Vasundhara Raje and union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan were among a host of dignitaries present on the occasion.

Today’s function came weeks before bypolls for Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha, and Mandalgarh assembly seats in Rajasthan on January 29. The state goes to polls later this year.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Manoj Ahuja is a principal correspondent based in Indore. He writes on business, agriculture and aviation. His focus is on south-western Madhya Pradesh, particularly the tribal belt.

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