PM launches country’s first hydrogen train, Congress and AAP attacked

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the launch of several development projects at a public rally in Jind. | Photo credit: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the country’s first hydrogen-powered train even as he took a swipe at Congress governments at the Center before 2014, accusing them of ignoring the country’s rail sector because the middle class and the poor were never on their priority list.

Mr Modi also hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, accusing it of betraying the people of the border state as the party had failed on all fronts and was now using advertisements to cover up its betrayal and failure.

The Prime Minister addressed various rallies in Haryana’s Jind, Punjab’s Jalandhar and Chandigarh. After decommissioning the country’s first hydrogen-powered train in Jind between Jind and Sonipat, he said that if the “Hormuz” situation had happened before 2014, Indian Railways would have ground to a halt. However, due to the transformations of Indian Railways in the last 12 years of the BJP regime, railway operations in the country continue smoothly, he added.

“…There is a war going on in West Asia, in the Hormuz area and through the sea route through Hormuz, India gets a large part of its petrol, diesel, LPG gas and fertilisers. But in the last three to four months, this route has turned into a battleground. If this situation had happened before 2014, Indian railways would have stopped, there were big trains running in the country 214 at that time. only on diesel,” Mr Modi said.

Electrification began in 1925

“Electrification of Indian railways started in 1925, almost a hundred years ago. From 1925 to 2014, about 90 years, only 30% of the railway network was electrified and 70% ran on diesel. But in the last 12 years, almost 99% of the Indian railway network has been electrified,” he added.

In Jalandhar, Mr Modi said: “Indian Railways is a carrier of poor and middle-class families. The Congress government has made a habit of sitting comfortably after making false statements about new trains. The railway development work that is being done today should have been done 30-40 years ago. But this work was simply not on the priority list of previous governments,” he said.

Speaking to AAP, Mr Modi said: “The law and order situation in Punjab has deteriorated. Business and trade has become difficult. People are being demanded ransom. Even police stations are not safe.”

“AAP’s Arrogant Claim”

He alleged that drug smugglers are roaming freely and pushing the youth of Punjab into the quagmire of drug addiction. “The people who are in power in Punjab have very arrogantly claimed that they will change the politics of the country. But today the country is witnessing their reality. Two or three days ago, a Delhi court found one of their leaders guilty. The charge against him is for inciting riots,” he said.

“Extortion, illegal gathering, unauthorized possession, all these have become hallmarks of their politics. In Punjab, the person who was appointed as health minister had to be sacked for taking bribes. Their MLAs are caught accepting bribes,” he said.

“The central government is trying to make the people of Punjab get the benefits of every central system. But under the rule of this corrupt party, there is an open game of looting. In the last 12 years, crores of rupees have been sent from the Center to Punjab, but the Punjab government has not spent that money.”

In Haryana, Mr. Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated various development projects worth around ₹ 14,700 crore to the nation. In Chandigarh, he did the same for projects worth over ₹4,700 crore, while in Punjab, projects were valued at ₹5,470 crore.

Published – 17 Jul 2026 17:06 IST