On a two-day visit to Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated various developmental projects worth more than Rs 3,200 crore, including the Kochi Water Metro, and said as states develop, the country will develop faster.
PM Modi has said the Centre lays emphasis on cooperative federalism and believes that if the states develop, it will help in the development of the country, reported news agency PTI. “As Kerala develops, India will develop faster,” Modi said at an event held at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
The PM flew down from Kochi on Tuesday morning and received a rousing welcome from BJP leaders and workers on his arrival at the Thiruvananthapuram airport.
Security was beefed up in the state capital for PM Modi as thousands lined up on the roadsides, hours in advance, to cheer him and showered him with flowers as his convoy made its way through the streets.
The PM briefly stood on the footboard of his vehicle, surrounded by SPG personnel, to wave at the public as well as party cadres and supporters on the roadside who greeted him amidst drum beats and chants of ‘Modi’.
PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of the Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram. According to Prime Minister`s Office (PMO), Digital Science Park is envisaged as a key research facility to develop digital products and services by industry and business units in collaboration with academia.
PM flags off Thiruvananthapuram – Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express train
Earlier in the day, PM Modi flagged off the state’s maiden Vande Bharat Express train— a significant initiative ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections—at the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Station with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, Kerala CM Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and MP Shashi Tharoor.
CM Vijayan said he was placing Kerala’s “gratitude to you for allocating a Vande Bharat train” and expressed hope that more would follow. This is for the first time that the CM, who has been aggressively campaigning for the proposed SilverLine semi-high speed rail corridor project, is making any remark regarding the southern state’s reception of the Vande Bharat, as reported by The Indian Express.
A short while before flagging off the Thiruvananthapuram – Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express train, the prime minister interacted with school students inside one of the coaches of the train.
A video shared by news agency ANI showed PM Modi interacting with school children on the train; one student sang a song while other recited a poem on cleanliness. The students were also seen displaying their paintings to PM Modi, who also signed some of the drawings. Th paintings also included PM Modi’s image of flagging off the Vande Bharat Express train.
The high-speed train will start running on the Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram route from April 26 and on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod route on April 28. The train will cover 11 districts namely Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasargod.