Raja Singh demands Metro in Old City, says development only through BJP
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who recently laid the foundation for the 31-kilometer Airport Express Metro corridor from Mindspace junction to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, was neglecting the people of the Old City by delaying the extension of the Metro Rail project from MGBS Bus Station to Falaknuma, said suspended BJP MLA from Goshmahal Raja Singh while demanding that the Telangana government expedite the extension of Metro Rail project.
The BJP workers and leaders in Old City protested demanding that the government keep its promise of extending Metro Rail to the Old City, claiming that people were suffering as a result of the lack of Metro Rail connectivity. The protest at Lal Darwaza, where party workers were arrested by police, was supported by Raja Singh, who said in a video statement that any development in the Old City will be possible only through the BJP, and also accused the AIMIM of deliberate neglect of the Old City. "In the Assembly, the MIM says we want the Metro, but in private, its leaders tell the government we don't," he said.
“The BJP is the party that fights for all of you in the Old City,” Raja Singh said, adding that even nine years after Telangana's formation, the government's announcements that it sanctioned Rs 500 crore or Rs 1,000 crore for development were empty words and promises. "I say to all Muslim brothers and sisters, if you want true development, it is only possible through the BJP; support the party, and there will be no development in the Old City until then," he asserted.
BJP leader and former party spokesperson Firasath Ali Baqri said the government must overcome hurdles such as acquisition of properties, address the issue of some religious structures along the proposed route, and clear the way for Metro to be extended to the Old City. Meanwhile, senior party leader Sudhakara Sharma condemned the arrest of protesting BJP workers, claiming that the TRS government was acting on orders from the MIM party and that the Chief Minister must keep his promise to build Metro Rail in the Old City.
