PM launches country’s first hydrogen train, takes jibe at Congress and AAP

Mr. Modi says had “Hormuz” situation occurred before 2014, the Indian Railways would have come to a standstill as trains in most of the country ran solely on diesel; he points out that nearly 99% of India’s railway network has been electrified in the last 12 years; PM lashes out at AAP leaders for indulging in ‘extortion, illegal collection, and unauthorised possessions’ as part of their political culture

Updated - July 17, 2026 10:01 pm IST - Chandigarh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the launch of multiple 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 dig at Congress governments at the Centre before 2014, accusing them of ignoring the country’s railway sector as the middle class and the poor were never on their priority list.

Mr. Modi also made a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, accusing it of betraying the people of the border State as the party failed on every front and was now using advertisements to conceal their betrayal and failures.

The Prime Minister addressed different gathering in Haryana’s Jind, Punjab’s Jalandhar and in Chandigarh. In Jind, after flagging off the country’s first hydrogen-powered train between Jind and Sonipat, he said that had the “Hormuz” situation occurred before 2014, the Indian Railways would have come to a standstill. However, owing to transformations in Indian Railways in the past 12 years of the BJP’s regime, railway operations in the country have been going on smoothly, he added.

“...A war has been going on in West Asia, in the region of Hormuz and through the sea route via Hormuz, India receives a large portion of its petrol, diesel, LPG gas and fertilizers. But for the past three to four months, this route has turned into a battlefield.. Had this situation occurred before 2014, the operations of Indian Railways would have come to a standstill. Because at that time, in 2014, in a large part of the country, our trains ran solely on diesel,” said Mr. Modi.

“The electrification of Indian Railways began in 1925, nearly a century ago. From 1925 to 2014, in about 90 years, only 30% of the railway network was electrified and 70% ran on diesel. But in the past 12 years, nearly 99% of India’s railway network has been electrified,” he added.

In Jalandhar, Mr. Modi said: “Indian Railways is the transporter of poor and middle-class families. The Congress government used to sit back comfortably after making false announcements about new trains. Railway development work being done today should have been done 30-40 years ago. But this work was simply not on the priority list of the previous governments,” he said.

Hitting out at the AAP, Mr. Modi said: “The law and order situation in Punjab has deteriorated. Doing business and trade has become difficult. Ransom is being demanded from people. Even police stations are not safe.”

He alleged that drug traffickers are roaming freely and pushing the youth of Punjab into the swamp of drug addiction. “The people who are sitting in power in Punjab used to very arrogantly claim that they would change the politics of the country. But today, the country is witnessing their reality. Just two or three days ago, a court in Delhi declared one of their leaders guilty. The charge against him is for inciting riots,” he said.

“Extortion, illegal collection, unauthorised possession, all of these have become the trademark of their politics. In Punjab, the person who was made the Health Minister had to be dismissed due to bribery. Their MLAs are being caught red-handed accepting bribes,” he said.

“The Central government is making efforts so that the people of Punjab receive the benefits of every central scheme. But under the government of this corrupt party, an open game of looting is going on here. In the past 12 years, lakhs of crores of rupees were sent from the Centre to Punjab, but the Punjab government did not spend that money in the right places. The situation is such that every developmental work in Punjab has come to a standstill,” alleged Mr. Modi.

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

Published - July 17, 2026 05:06 pm IST