Cong slams Modi-led govt over 'tardy' pace of development works in J&K

The Congress has claimed that major developmental projects in Jammu and Kashmir suffered unnecessary delay under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over the past 10 years, even as it welcomed the opening of Z-Morh tunnel.

The tunnel, opened by Modi on Monday, provides round-the-year connectivity to Sonamarg hill resort along Srinagar-Leh National Highway.

The BJP hit back at the Congress, saying, it shortchanged the development of the road and railway networks in the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Modi on Monday inaugurated the Z-Morh tunnel in Ganderbal district of Kashmir valley in presence of Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Jitendra Singh, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

“Better late than never...the tunnel was completed after a long delay and it is a welcome step which will immensely benefit the people of Leh and Kargil. It was their long pending demand which they had raised when the UPA government was in power.

“Rahul Gandhi personally intervened and this project was conceived and sanctioned in October 2012,” Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.

He said the road has a strategic importance, but the tunnel took a long time coming. “It was Congress which extended the rail network to Udhampur and Katra and Banihal to Baramulla in Kashmir. The work on the Nashri tunnel along Srinagar-Jammu national highway was started by Congress,” he said.

The party senior vice president also said it was former prime minister Manmohan Singh who announced a special package for J&K in 2004, covering all major projects related to roads, railway and power. The development, however, was hit during the Modi-led government, he said.

Former deputy chief minister and BJP leader Kavinder Gupta criticised Congress, saying the party only started, never finished a project. “Modi government’s works, especially to improve road and railway network connectivity from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, is praiseworthy. Most of the roads were used to get closed during inclement weather but this has almost become a history. They have only laid the foundation stones but never completed any project. They have closed their eyes to reality,” he said.