The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi after he mocked central government's 'Make in India' campaign over the breakdown of Vande Bharat Express.
Gandhi not only attacked the Make in India campaign but also mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Vande Bharat Express, codenamed Train 18, broke down on its maiden return journey on Saturday.
"Modi ji, I think Make in India needs a serious rethink. Most people feel it has failed. I assure you we in the Congress are thinking very deeply about how it will be done," Gandhi said.
Modi ji, i think Make in India needs a serious rethink. Most people feel it has failed. I assure you we in the Congress are thinking very deeply about how it will be done. https://t.co/3jKBOzEmE3
Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 16, 2019
Retaliating strongly to Gandhi's jibe, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said it is a shame that Gandhi chose to attack the "hard work and ingenuity" of Indian engineers, technicians, and labourers.
"It is THIS mindset which needs a reset. 'Make In India' is a success and a part of crores of Indian lives. Your family had 6 decades to think, wasn't that enough?" Goyal asked.
Such a shame that you choose to attack the hard work and ingenuity of Indian engineers, technicians and labourers. It is THIS mindset which needs a reset. Make In India’ is a success and a part of crores of Indian lives. Your family had 6 decades to think, wasn’t that enough? https://t.co/ebto2kTzst
Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 16, 2019
Another tweet posted by BJP from its official Twitter handle called the Congress president a "consistent failure".
"Just because of one minor glitch you are asking for rethink on an initiative as critical as 'Make in India'. Do you realise how deeply India is rethinking about a consistent failure like you? P.S: Does your deep thinking involve outsourcing our manufacturing to Italy?" BJP questioned in its tweet.
On Saturday, the Vande Bharat Express broke down while returning from Varanasi to Delhi after the train ran over cattle. It was halted at around 5:30 am at Bahrain but operations were resumed at around 8:15 am.
However, the Railway ministry soon clarified that the Vande Bharat Express is fit to resume commercial operations from Sunday (February 17).
"The train has been examined at the New Delhi maintenance depot to rectify the defect in communication. All other systems have also been rectified. The train will now be able to run as per schedule on February 17," it added.
Just an hour ago, Piyush Goyal shared a video on his Twitter handle, asking people to grab their tickets as Vande Bharat Express left for its first commercial run.
Vande Bharat Express left Delhi for Varanasi today morning on its first commercial run. Tickets sold out for the next two weeks already. Get yours today! pic.twitter.com/LwokUNHRJj
Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 17, 2019