The move to not invite Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the inauguration ceremony of the new Magenta line of the Delhi metro has not gone down well with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The party has asked for a refund of the 50 per cent amount it reportedly paid for the construction of the new metro line.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the new metro line connecting Botanical Garden in Noida to Kalkaji Mandir in south Delhi.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Monday lashed out at the central government for snubbing Kejriwal, saying “this depicts the personal enmity of the central government with the Delhi Chief Minister”. He further pointed that a similar situation had occurred during the inauguration of the Faridabad corridor of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
Hitting out at PM Modi, Singh said that the move clearly showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader hates Kejriwal and doesn’t like to be seen around with him.
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also took to Twitter to hit out at the Modi government over the issue. He alleged that Kejriwal was not invited because he would have asked PM Modi to lower the metro fare in front of people.
दिल्ली के मुख्यमंत्री को दिल्ली मेट्रो के उद्घाटन में ना बुलाना दिल्ली का जनता का अपमान है।
ना बुलाने की केवल एक ही वजह है - इन्हें डर था कि कहीं केजरीवाल प्रधानमंत्री जी से जनता के लिए मेट्रो किराए कम करने की मांग ना कर दें।
— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) December 25, 2017
Meanwhile, heavy security arrangement was in place for the inauguration of the Magenta line of Delhi Metro by the Prime Minister.
The elite Special Protection Group, which provides security to the prime minister, took control of the premises. Provincial Armed Constabulary and paramilitary forces were part of the security at the venue.
The area was divided into 15 zones and an officer for each was appointed. Aerial surveillance was also conducted with the help of helicopters, for which three helipads were made at Botanical Garden.
On Sunday, the PM had said that the Magenta Line is an example of modernising urban transport and making travel between Delhi and Noida faster and convenient.
He took to Twitter saying, "This new line is yet another example of how we are modernising urban transportation. I will also travel on the Metro tomorrow (Monday). This year, I have had the opportunity to inaugurate and travel in the Kochi as well as Hyderabad Metros."
In a first, broad-sized coaches will ply on the standard gauge track of the Magenta Line. Senior DMRC officials also said all coaches to be introduced under Phase-III of the Delhi Metro rail network would be broad-sized only.
