Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday highlighted the rapid expansion of India’s Metro rail network, stating that its total length has grown from just 248 km across five cities in 2014 to nearly 1,200 km spanning 26 cities today.

He asserted that the accelerated expansion has transformed urban mobility and improved the quality of life for millions of commuters.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Let me ask you… If India’s Metro network had continued expanding at the pace it did before 2014, how long would the wait be for cities like Pune to have a Metro? YEARS….no…DECADES perhaps. And that was UNACCEPTABLE.”

“In 2014, India had just 248 km of Metro lines across 5 cities. Today, we have nearly 1,200 km across 26 cities. Over 1 crore people travel by Metro every day,” he stated.

The impact, according to the Prime Minister, goes “beyond statistics or numbers”.

“It means less time in traffic, more family time, greater productivity and better opportunities. This is the transformation we are working towards for urban India!” he added.

Earlier on Tuesday (November 3), PM Modi virtually inaugurated the 23.2 km Pune Metro Line 3 (Pink Line) elevated corridor connecting Maan/Hinjewadi (the IT Hub) to Shivajinagar (District Court Metro station). Built under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model at a cost of over Rs 8,300 crore, it significantly reduces travel time and traffic congestion for tech workers and commuters.

Highlighting key operational milestones of the Pink Line, the Prime Minister emphasised that the line is operated entirely by women train operators. Approximately 30 per cent of its total power requirements are sourced from solar energy.

He also laid the foundation stone for the Pune Metro Phase-II expansion, valued at around Rs 13,500 crore. This phase covers key corridors connecting residential and business hubs, including Kharadi, Wagholi, Hadapsar, Swargate, and Khadakwasla.

The Prime Minister expressed delight at inaugurating another Pune Metro line, recalling that he had laid the foundation for the first phase about 10 years earlier. The Hinjewadi–Shivajinagar service will improve connectivity for a major IT hub; the new Phase-II lines will strengthen links between older and newer parts of Pune.

PM Modi highlighted how rapid urban expansion requires eco-friendly mass transit solutions. Expanding metro lines across tier-1 and tier-2 cities aims to boost ease of living, cut carbon footprints, and provide integrated multi-modal travel hubs, connecting metro stations, bus terminals, and railways.

He reiterated the Union government’s commitment to building sustainable, modern mass transit systems across India. He emphasised that expanding metro networks cuts down road congestion, reduces vehicular emissions, and enables seamless multi-modal connectivity with intercity bus terminals and railway stations.

The cash worth Rs 1,02,79,000, which was recovered by the police from a party office of the Trinamool Congress at Sarisha under Diamond Harbour Police district in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, was actually planted by the police administration, alleged the party’s general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee.

The Diamond Harbour Police had claimed that they got information about the huge cash at the Sarisha party office during the interrogation of Abhishek Banerjee’s aide, Sumit Roy, who is currently in police custody in relation to a multi-crore soil-theft case registered at Kalitala-Ashuti Police Station under the jurisdiction of the same police district.

However, rubbishing the police’s claims, Banerjee issued a social media post late Wednesday night claiming that the cash was planted deliberately at the said party office, which was allegedly vandalised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-backed goons six months back.

“The deliberate planting of fake and fabricated evidence at a property vandalised six months ago by BJP goons, which subsequently became a scene of crime under police investigation, is a brazen attempt to subvert justice, manipulate the investigation and misuse the machinery of law,” claimed the Diamond Harbour MP in his social media post.

In his social media post, Abhishek Banerjee cautioned that those responsible for this alleged conspiracy of planting the cash at the property will ultimately be held accountable. “Let this be an unequivocal warning to those orchestrating this sinister conspiracy and those acting at their behest: You will be held personally accountable for every act of fabrication, manipulation and abuse of authority,” said Banerjee.

He also warned the police administration not to mistake political patronage, official position or the misuse of police powers for immunity from prosecution.

“The law will catch up with every individual involved, regardless of rank, position or political affiliation. Prepare yourselves to face the full force of the law. There will be no compromise, no retreat and no escape from legal accountability,” Banerjee added.

On Monday, although the Diamond Harbour Police District confirmed that the party office — where the cash was recovered — belonged to the Trinamool Congress, it did not clarify who was actually responsible for running the office.

It is still unclear why this huge amount of cash was kept in the Trinamool Congress party office and where it came from.

The police are trying to gather more information about the source of this money.

However, the police’s initial probe has found that it is related to the case of soil theft registered at Kalitala-Ashuti police station.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been summoned by the Delhi Police to appear for questioning on Thursday in connection with the Jantar Mantar protest case.

The CJP members have been asked to appear before the Delhi Police Crime Branch office in Rajouri Garden at noon.

Das and Ranka had been summoned by the Delhi Police earlier in October as well. However, they skipped the summons and later sought more time to appear before the Crime Branch for questioning.

The protest cases against the CJP leaders were transferred to the Crime Branch in October. The cases are in connection with the incident on October 13, when Das, Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, along with 11 others, trespassed into Jantar Mantar, which has been de-notified as the designated protesting site.

All were detained by the Delhi Police. While Shinde was released on bail bond, Das and Ranka remained in judicial custody for a week.

The CJP members were protesting against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

On October 21, Das and Ranka were released from Tihar Jail following a week in judicial custody, after submitting written undertakings before a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM), assuring that they would maintain peace and refrain from calling for protests at Jantar Mantar until the site is de-notified in accordance with law.

SEM Ritu Raj directed the release of the two activists after they furnished personal bonds and surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each until the conclusion of the inquiry in connection with the Jantar Mantar trespassing case.

In their written undertakings, both activists promised not to commit any breach of peace and expressed full faith in the judiciary and all its instruments, including the SEM court.

The SEM court observed that the immediate measures required under Section 135(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to prevent a breach of peace or disturbance of public tranquillity could be adequately secured through the execution of bonds, supported by the written undertakings.