Sonia, Mamata flag off 12 new trains in Uttar Pradesh

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Gandhi and Banerjee flagged off the trains through videoconferencing at Kanpur railway station here.

Claiming that addition of a dozen new trains would prove to be a boon for Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi said later at a huge public rally adjacent to the railway station that "it was after a long gap that the railway ministry had done so much in one go for this state".

She said the central government would be only too keen to do much more for the state.

"Our government at the centre in general and the Indian Railways in particular are committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Uttar Pradesh," she said.

"The centre was always ready to play its role in pushing development projects for the states, but this cannot be achieved without the active support of the states," she maintained.

The new trains are Kanpur-New Delhi Shatabdi Express, Lucknow-New Delhi Duronto, Allahabad-New Delhi Duronto, Gorakhpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminal Express, Varanasi-Jammu Tawi Superfast, Lucknow-Yashwantpur Express, Agra-Lucknow Intercity, Mathura-Kasganj Passenger, Bhopal-Pratapgarh Express, Gorakhpur-Nainital Express, Gorakhpur-Noutha Passenger and Chapra-Mathura Express.

Banerjee underlined the significance of Uttar Pradesh.

"Uttar Pradesh is a state that gave this country its first prime minister; he was followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri who also hailed from this very state. Thereafter Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and now the UPA chairperson all hail from Uttar Pradesh," Banerjee said.

She added, "Let me assure you that the nation's future too will remain in the hands of this very state only."

The function was organised by Kanpur Congress Lok Sabha member and union Coal Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal.

Among others who were present were both ministers of state for railways E. Ahamad and K.H. Muniyappa.

A cross-section of Uttar Pradesh MPs, including those from different opposition parties, were invited as distinguished guests for the programme.