By IANS
Madurai : Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sunday evening flagged off the Chennai-Rameswaram Sethu Express, inaugurating rail services on the newly laid 114-km broad gauge line from Manamadurai to the temple town on the east coast.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad accompanied Gandhi to Madurai. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was also present on the occasion.
The broad gauge line “should be a boon for lakhs of visitors” to Rameswaram, said Gandhi, who is also chairperson of India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
According to her, the Karunanidhi-led Democratic Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu is “strong and functioning extremely well” and should “strive to fulfil the trust and confidence people reposed in it”.
Tamil Nadu under Karunanidhi’s leadership “was a good example for other states to emulate”, Gandhi said, adding: “The state has also created a distinct identity for itself and emerged stronger.”
The broad gauge line passes over a 92-year-old bridge that has been upgraded. Karunanidhi remarked: “We also need a bridge between different communities.”