Exactly a month after Indian armed forces decimated terror headquarters deep inside Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a strong warning from the soil of Jammu & Kashmir. He said, Pakistan had launched an attack on Insaniyat (humanity) and Kashmiriyat, when terrorists killed Indian tourists in Pahalgam.
Modi said, Pakistan’s main motive was to incite communal riots across India when terrorists targeted innocent people on the basis of religion. He said, Pakistan also wanted to derail Kashmir’s economy by killing tourists. Modi warned that anybody trying to create obstacles in the path of progress in Kashmir will now have “to face Modi first”. The PM said, ‘whenever Pakistan will hear the name Operation Sindoor, it will reminded of its humiliating defeat’.
Modi carried the national tricolour on the world’s tallest railway arch bridge over river Chenab. It took 37 years to construct this bridge to connect Jammu and Katra with Srinagar and the rest of the Valley.
Work on this tallest rail bridge began 42 years ago during 1983-84. It was not an easy job to build this huge 359 meter tall rail archbridge in seismic zone-5. It is an area where strong winds blow at a speed of nearly 100 kmph.
After facing all challenges, our brave engineers built this 1,315 meter long rail bridge which is 26 meter wide. More than 28,000 tonnes of steel was used to build this bridge, which can withstand strong winds upto 266 kmph. This bridge is 35 meter taller than Paris Eiffel Tower, and twice the height of our State of Unity in Gujarat.
On one hand, while our engineers surmounted huge challenges to build this railway archbridge, you will be surprised to know, it was Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan who tried hard to stall this project. He had filed a writ petition in Supreme Court alleging that the methodology of the project was faulty and the project cost was exorbitant. He also raised safety issues. Because of this legal tangle, work on Chenab River Project was stalled for two years.
On behalf of Indian Railways, senior advocate Maninder Singh fought the case and proved before the court that the case was filed with malafide intention. He convinced the court that all security and safety aspects on all parameters were kept in mind while preparing this project. He also told the court that this project was in the national interest.
For two years, the case lingered on and finally the Supreme Court cleared the project and on Friday, it was Modi who inaugurated this bridge.
America’s Problem : The Most powerful Vs The most wealthy
Politics in the United States is now caught in a bind with President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk declaring an open war against each other. Till two days ago, their bromance was the talk of the town and now, they are Enemy No.1 for each other.
Trump has threatened to terminate all government subsidies and contracts given to Musk’s companies, in order to save billions of dollars of government money.
Musk responded by demanding impeachment of the President and went to the extent of making allegations that Trump was engaged in sexual exploitation and his name is in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Musk claimed that it was he who helped Trump win the presidential election, while Trump revealed that the candidate favoured by Musk to head NASA was not fit for the post.
The Trump-Musk feud has resulted in a steep drop in the prices of Tesla’s shares and the company’s networth has declined by $150 billion. Republican party leaders are trying to mediate between Musk and Trump to bring about a rapprochment.
What will be the consequences if the world’s most powerful leader is locked in a personal battle with the world’s richest person?
Both have large sized egos, both are hard-headed, both are powerful and can cause tremendous losses to the other. If Trump terminates contracts, Musk’s business empire may face losses worth billions of dollars. To roll out self-driving cars, Musk would need permission from Trump.
If White House changes emission rules, Tesla will lose millions of dollars worth earnings. Musk’s SpaceX company is the only American space firm that provides spacecraft to NASA to go to the International Space Station. Musk has threatened to obstruct this and it can hamper America’s space program.
Musk had donated $288 million to help Trump win the election. He can now give finance to Republicans to vote against Trump’s’ “big, beautiful” bill in US Congress. In the long run, Musk may float a new political party, but his most dangerous weapon is his threat to link Trump with Epstein’s sexual crimes.
But Trump is Trump. He has already traversed more dangerous paths in the past. The powers of the President of USA are unlimited. Any businessman needs friends in the White House, and enmity with the President can prove costly.