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Updated May 7th, 2021 at 16:40 IST

Hardeep Puri dismisses Congress’ 'bizarre' discourse on Central Vista; exposes 'hypocrisy'

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri came down heavily on Congress for playing ‘cheap politics’ over the Central Vista project by spreading lies

Reported by: Gloria Methri
PTI
PTI | Image:self
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Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday came down heavily on the Congress for playing ‘cheap politics’ over the Central Vista project and termed it as the party’s tactic to distract people from ‘monumental governance failures’ in their states.  

“Central Vista is just another ongoing project. It’s only the Congress that’s obsessed about it, nobody else. Moreover, only projects for the New Parliament Building and rejuvenation of Central Vista Avenue have been awarded at an estimated cost of ₹862 crores and ₹477 crores respectively till now,” Puri said in a tweet.

Calling Congress’s discourse on Central Vista ‘bizarre’, the Minister pointed out that the cost of redeveloping the avenue has been above ₹20,000 crores, over several years.

The Central Vista project is on track and the Vice President and Prime Minister’s new residence are scheduled to be completed by May and December 2022. The CPWD, which is executing the project, had revised its estimated cost from Rs 11,794 crore to Rs 13,450 crore.

Terming it a "criminal wastage", Congress has been asking the government to shelve its plans on the Central Vista project and give priority to improving medical infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic to save people's lives. 

'We know our priorities'

Responding to the criticism, Hardeep Singh Puri stated that the government has allocated nearly twice the amount for vaccination. He noted that India’s healthcare budget for just this year was over ₹3 lakh crore. “We know our priorities. There are hundreds of projects being executed by various depts. Governance hasn’t come to a standstill, unlike the Congress’s times of policy paralysis,” Puri tweeted.

Pointing out the Opposition’s ‘hypocrisy,’ Puri said that Congress and its allies are splurging on new projects such as the reconstruction of an MLA’s hostel in Maharashtra and building of a new Legislative Assembly building in Chhattisgarh. “If this is fine, what is the problem with Central Vista?” he asked.

SC dismisses plea seeking stay on Central Vista project

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court disposed off a petition seeking a stay on the construction work of the Central Vista project amid the COVID-19 crisis in Delhi. The petitioner represented by advocate Siddharth Luthra argued that amid a 'public emergency' the construction must be deferred by 3-4 weeks. As the matter is pending before the Delhi HC, the apex court asked Luthra to ask the Delhi HC to take up the matter at its earliest.

The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the power corridor of the country -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the prime minister and the vice president.

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Published May 7th, 2021 at 16:39 IST

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