No Privatisation of Railways will occur, Says PM Modi in Varanasi

Varanasi: PM Narendra Modi is in his Lok Sabha constituency today, where he paid tremendous  tributes to Madan Mohan Malaviya's statue and visited the Assi Ghat.

Mr Modi flagged off the WDP4D locomotive at Diesel Locomotives Work (DLW) in the presence of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, and addressed a gathering. Here is what he says:

• "I have a deep connection with the Railways. My life is what it is because of Railways."
• "For progress, we need to focus on our own capabilities."
• "We have asked the youth to 'Make in India'."
• "Our defence requirements need to be met in India."
• "I am told that the 96 per cent of the components used in the engine that has been made here have been manufactured here by you. The question is, how can we make even the remaining four per cent?"
• "Since becoming PM, most of the time I end up talking about Railways of India."
• "We have to take the railways ahead and through the Railways we have to take the Nation ahead."
• "We want to set up four railway universities to boost the capabilities of the Indian Railways."
• "The finances that should have gone into building roads and hospitals for the poor were pumped into the Railways to keep it afloat."
• "What we want to do is to put more money for development of Railways in such a way that the people are benefitted and you are also benefitted."
• "We will not privatise the Railways."
• "Our development approach is to bring the world's wealth and put it in Railways, take it forward and take progress forward."
• "We don't see Railways only as a means to travel. We see it as the backbone of India's development."
• "If we use the Railway properly, we can bring development to our villages. There is always electricity near a Railway line. Even if there is one train that stops there, a station exists."
• "All we need to do is build two or three extra rooms at Railway stations and use them for skill development and to train our youth."
• "Whatever development has taken place since Independence, you will see more development than that in the coming days."

He earlier took part in a function at Banaras Hindu University's Swatantrata Bhawan. Here is what he says during a speech there:

• "This is a century of knowledge. And India has a huge role to play."
• "Our education apparatus can't be one that produces robots. There has to be overall personality development."
• "Whether it is science or technology, the vibrant mind of a young student is very important."
• "In this land of the Ganga, there was education of culture. But, more importantly, there was a culture of education.
• "People always thank their mother and teacher for their achievements."
• "Today, what the world needs are good teachers."
• "Good education is linked with good teachers. We need to think how we can have good teachers."
• "We need to think how we can create an environment where children want to become good teachers."
• "A student who wants to become a teacher will not study just for exams but will closely observe the teachers and get inspired."
• "If we can train such people, we can give good teachers to the world: PM Modi in Varanasi."
• "Our culture is our strength, be it our songs, dance or art. These are very precious."
• "Good governance is key to a nation's development."