On Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Nusrat Jahan made a bizarre claim on the floor of parliament, saying that the bullet train project in India is a bluff as the soil in the country is not fit to set up railway tracks to run high-speed trains.
Speaking in Lok Sabha, the actress-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan, the Lok Sabha member from West Bengal’s Basirhat constituency, claimed that the Indian soil is not fit to set up any infrastructure required to run the bullet trains technology. She expressed doubts over the success of the bullet train project by claiming that India lacked capabilities to run high-speed trains, unlike Japan.
“Dreams of Running bullet trains like Japan in India is a bluff to the Nation. Indian soil is not capable to set up such railway tracks on the Ground. It is the Science / not to be taken as one speech of a street corner meeting,” the TMC MP tweeted.
Dreams of Running Bullet Trains like Japan in India is a bluff to the Nation. Indian soil is not capable to set up such railway tracks on the
— Nusrat J Ruhii (@nusratchirps) March 17, 2022
Ground. It is the Science / not to be taken as one speech of a street corner meeting. https://t.co/tGj5ZNclx2
The bizarre speech made by Nusrat Jahan, which lacks a scientific understanding of India’s topography and questions the abilities of Indian engineers and scientists, evoked a strong reaction not just inside parliament but also from the general public. The video of Nusrat Jahan’s Lok Sabha speech has gone viral on the internet, with people ridiculing her.
Railway Minister slams TMC MP Nusrat Jahan
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has hit out at TMC MP Nusrat Jahan for claiming that Indian soil is not fit for the bullet train technology. The minister said that the TMC MP was questioning the capabilities of Indian scientists.
Responding to the arguments, Vaishnaw said that the statement put out by Nusrat Jahan expressing doubts over the bullet train project was shameful. He slammed her by saying those who speak of “Maa-Maati-Manush” (Mother, Motherland, and People) are disrespecting the mother (soil) and the motherland.
I loved the way @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji ignored the stupid question & turned the debate and made a Brilliant rebuttal. Only regret is people trolling Nusrat Ji, she’s not to be trolled 😍 pic.twitter.com/eIJ5tnJhGu
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) March 17, 2022
“How can one say we cannot run bullet trains on Indian soil?” the Railway Minister asked the Trinamool Congress MP, adding that the TMC MP was disrespecting the country’s scientists and engineers by questioning their abilities.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also gave details on the progress of the bullet train project and said that the work is being done at the speed of 8 km per month, along with the construction of pillars and bridges on all major rivers. He said that the government is planning to take this project at a speed of 10 km per month in the coming days.
It is notable that Indian Railways is already running semi-high-speed trains in India without any difficulty from soil, and there is no scientific evidence to back the claims of the TMC MP. Moreover, almost the entire length of the track for the bullet train project will be elevated, the tracks will not be on the ground.
