New Delhi: Delhi minister Atishi on Sunday voiced her opinion on the fact that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was not invited to an event where a metro line was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital, and said this reflects “cheap mentality” and that PM Modi should “rise above party lines”, news agency PTI reported.
Atishi was speaking about the event where the 2km extension of the Airport Express metro line from Dwarka Sector 21 station to the YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 station was inaugurated by PM Modi earlier in the day.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi said that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is a 50:50 venture of the Central government and the Delhi government.
“This means half the funds are spent by the city government and the other half by the Centre. But it was not considered important to invite the Delhi chief minister to the event. I want to tell the prime minister that he is the guardian of all the state governments. He should rise above party lines,” PTI quoted Atishi as saying.
The AAP leader said not inviting CM Kejriwal to the DMRC event reflects "cheap mentality" and added that since Delhi is the national capital, the Centre and city government should work together for its development, PTI reported.
There was no immediate reaction from the DMRC or the BJP to her allegations.
It is to be noted that PM Modi inaugurated the Delhi Airport Metro Express line extension from Dwarka Sector 21 on his 73rd birthday on Sunday. The line will be opened to passengers later in the day.
According to reports, Delhi Metro will also increase the operational speed of the trains on the Airport Express Line from 90 to 120 km/hr, thereby, reducing the travel time. The total journey from New Delhi station to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 station will take about 21 minutes.