‘Gall to oppose the same project you…’: Puri rebuts Congress on Central Vista

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri slammed the Congress party on Friday on its questioning of the government’s Central Vista project, related to the redevelopment and construction of a new Parliament and a common central secretariat, and said that the incessant questioning by the Congress party exposes their “shameful double face”.

“Congress doesn’t stop at hypocrisy. Look at their shameful double face. During UPA, Congress leaders wrote about the need for a new parliament. The Speaker in 2012 wrote a letter to the Urban Development Ministry for the same. And now they have the gall to oppose the same project?” Puri wrote in a series of tweets.

Puri also said that the government was well aware of its priorities adding that healthcare is one of the major priorities of the government.

Read more: 20 heritage jamun trees may be uprooted in Central Vista revamp

“Congress’s discourse on Central Vista is bizarre. Cost of Central Vista is about ₹20,000 crore, over several years. GoI has allocated nearly twice that amount for vaccination! India’s healthcare budget for just this year was over ₹3 lakh crore. We know our priorities,” Puri wrote on the micro-blogging site.

“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. Central Vista is just another ongoing project. It’s only the Congress that’s obsessed about it, nobody else. Moreover, only projects for New Parliament Building & rejuvenation of Central Vista Avenue have been awarded at an estimated cost of ₹862 crore & ₹477 crore respectively till now. As I said, there are many components in the Central Vista project which are spread over several years,” Puri further wrote.

Read more: Delhi high court defers hearing on plea seeking suspension of Central Vista project work amid Covid-19 surge

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the Centre over the Central Vista project. Calling the project "criminal wastage," Gandhi wrote, "Put people’s lives at the centre- not your blind arrogance to get a new house!" on Twitter. The Congress party has often questioned the government on the Central Vista project urging them to shelve the project and give priority to improving medical infrastructure in the country as it faces the challenge of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

In his post, Puri further said that the questions posed by the Congress party on the project are just “cheap politics” done to “spread lies.”

Read more: PM house in new Central Vista given green clearance

“They want to distract people from monumental governance failures in their states by spreading lies. So they indulge in cheap politics despite knowing this project creates direct & indirect employment for thousands of skilled, semi-skilled & unskilled workers in these times. While Central Vista is not new, see Congress’ hypocrisy. Congress & its allies are splurging on a new project reconstructing an MLA hostel in Maharashtra & building a new Legislative Assembly building in Chhattisgarh. If this is fine, what is the problem with Central Vista?,” Puri wrote.