Bullet train idea shameful: TDP MP

New Delhi: A member from the TDP, an ally of BJP at the Centre, on Tuesday said it would be "shameful" to conceive a project like bullet train when crores of people were still below the poverty line.

TDP MP P Ravindra Babu said in the Lok Sabha "There are 44 crore people living below poverty line in India which is very unfortunate. So it will be shameful if we conceive any project like the bullet train in this type of scenario."

Bullet train is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a deal for this project was inked with Japan during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit here last week.

Participating in the discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants, Babu said that everybody knows where India stands economically at the international level. "Let us not conceive any grandiose schemes like the bullet train and other things just to attract international attention," he said. Emphasising that the government should prioritise its strategies, Babu suggested that budgetary provisions for defence sector could be diverted and the money be utilised for welfare of poor people.

"Let us disarm ourselves, our neighbouring countries and save money to the tune of Rs 2 lakh crore," he noted. Babu demanded special status for Andhra Pradesh which, he said, was facing huge resource gap at any political cost. He also assured that any problem related to Polavaram project would be taken care of.