Modi hits out at critics as he opens freight corridor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) took a dig at the opposition over the newly opened dedicated freight corridor, saying critics will continue to complain like a “naraz fufa” (grumpy uncle) and make up grievances, while dismissing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Rahul Gandhi’s campaign of lies against the government as “echhoo goj goj goj goyoth”).

Inaugurating three key sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, connecting the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai to Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, and marking the completion of the project, Mr. Modi praised the speed of implementation of his administration and described the work speed of the former Congress-led UPA regime as slow.

“After 2014, with your blessings, when I reached Delhi and once we reached there, we started expediting this project. The work on the dedicated freight corridor was completed today,” he said.

The ‘jhooth ki goonj’ slur appeared to mock the Chhatron Ki Goonj student dialogue campaign launched by the Congress.

Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi without naming him, Mr. Modi said opponents always find fault with major infrastructure milestones like the newly opened freight corridor.

“Now suddenly the fufaji (grumpy uncle) starts shouting: What will happen to the truck drivers? Where will the trucks go? What about the trucks that people have bought? Now the fufaji has found something new to complain about,” Mr Modi said, hinting that opposition parties would make complaints against national progress.

He pointed to rapid modernization during his ten-year tenure compared to the shortcomings of the previous administration. “After 2014, India built 50,000 modern railway coaches. The previous regime could not even build 50,000 toilets in 10 years,” he said.

Targeting the opposition’s youth outreach efforts, namely Mr. Gandhi’s Chhatron Ki Goonj campaign, the Prime Minister warned the youth against falling into political misdirection.

“Friends, those who follow the echo of Jhooth will meet at every crossroads, but the youth of India is going forward with a hunger for truth… (At every nook and corner you will find people who will try to mislead you with lies, but today’s youth will stand for the truth),” Mr Modi said, urging the youth to align themselves with the political narrative.

He said the youth saw the government’s focus on work across sectors, including solar, wind, hydro and nuclear. Describing the dedicated freight rail corridor as the lifeline of the fast-growing country, the Prime Minister noted that India’s economic transformation is accelerating due to its modern freight infrastructure. Earlier, passenger and freight trains were forced to run on the same tracks, severely hampering both passenger travel and freight movement, but the dedicated corridor has changed that dynamic, he said.

He criticized administrative delays under the previous government, pointing out that although the concept was conceived in 2004 and a dedicated tool was established in 2006, the files remained without progress until 2014.

“Unfortunately, even these files were not lucky enough to get a dedicated corridor. The files would get stuck, hang around and wander aimlessly,” Mr Modi said.

India is preparing a new saga of manufacturing, involving “chips to ships”, with components, final products and a supply chain being set up in the country for self-sufficiency, Mr Modi said.

At an event in Mumbai later in the day, Mr Modi said the Indian economy’s 7.8% real GDP expansion gave confidence to the world as the performance came in a challenging quarter when the impact of conflict in West Asia was highest.

Published – 8 Sep 2026 23:06 IST