In the Lok Sabha on Monday, members of almost all opposition parties praised Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari for the development of road infrastructure in the country. Along with this, questions were also raised on the issue of quality and maintenance of roads and also accused of lack of transparency in toll collection.
Taking forward the discussion in the Lok Sabha on ‘Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the year 2022-23’, members of the Congress and some other opposition parties called for special focus on road safety and curbing accidents. There was also a demand in the Lok Sabha to take concrete steps towards its implementation.
BJP MP calls Gadkari ‘Spiderman’
Praising the government for the construction of the road, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tapir Gao called Road Transport Minister Gadkari a ‘spiderman’ who is laying a network of roads in the country.
Taking part in the discussion, Tapir Gaon of BJP said that I have named Nitin Gadkari as ‘Spiderman’ because he has laid a network of roads just like a spider lays a web. He said that after the Modi government came, the work of construction of roads near the border with China is going on fast.
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Referring to the construction of several roads in his state, the Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh said that Modi hai to mumkin hai, Gadkari hai to mumkin hai. The village said that I hope that ‘Spiderman’ will continue to carry forward the speed at which the roads are being built. The country and the Northeast will continue to move forward like this.
Opposition also praised Gadkari
Taking part in the discussion, RSP’s NK Premachandran said that being a member of the opposition, he often opposes many policies of the government, but supports the demands for grants of the Ministry of Roads and Highways as the ministry under the leadership of Nitin Gadkari and The National Highways Authority of India is doing a good job in the development of road infrastructure.
He said that for the first time in the House, I am supporting the demand for any grant. Imtiaz Jaleel of AIMIM also praised the work done in the field of roads in the country under the leadership of Gadkari and said that politics and criticism have their place but if there will be any staunch opponent of BJP, then Gadkari has seen the development of roads and highways in the country. Will appreciate
Demand for action against contractors
However, he demanded action against some officials and contractors of the ministry, alleging negligence. Jaleel said that in November 2019, Gadkari had mentioned in a tweet the bad condition of a road in his area and directed to take action against the responsible officials along with fixing it in eight days. The AIMIM member said that but till now no work has been done in that direction, it seems that Gadkari sahib is agile but some of his officers are sluggish.
Referring to the unfinished works of some highways passing through Moradabad, ST Hasan of the Samajwadi Party said that the road transport ministry should look into it. Taking part in the discussion, Chandeshwar Prasad of Janata Dal (United) said that the country loses three per cent of GDP due to road accident deaths. The ministry should take more effective steps to prevent accidents.
Congress’s Benny Behnan said that this government is privatizing the country’s major assets, so Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari is requested to save the roads from this. Participating in the discussion, Jasbir Singh Gill of Congress said that there should be uniformity in giving compensation while acquiring land for construction of highways. BJP’s Ram Kripal Yadav said that after the formation of the government at the Center under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there has been a manifold increase in the construction of roads.