The arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia, who will make Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park their new home, is the first step to reintroducing the big cat to India after the species was declared extinct in 1952. 12 more are expected to arrive from South Africa next month.
This ambitious project – funded largely by state-run Indian Oil – was first introduced under the Congress' UPA-II government in 2009.
Here are a few reactions from the Congress party, which was in power when the project was first proposed nearly 13 years ago.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mentioned the arrival of the eight cheetahs, raising a question as to why in eight years, the government was unable to create 16 crore jobs. "The youth have raised a challenge, they will take employment," the leader tweeted in Hindi.
The Congress' verified Twitter account also shared a video of Gandhi, who is heard thanking people for their support to their Bharat Jodo Yatra. He says, "I don't have a problem with the cheetahs, cheetahs have done nothing wrong. I am happy that cheetahs are being reintroduced," but raises questions about rising prices and increasing unemployment in India.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who was Minister of State under the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2009 when the project was first proposed, shared a letter of him approving the proposal from Project Cheetah, which was made by Dr MK Ranjitsinh from the Wildlife Trust of India.
Calling the prime minister "a pathological liar," the leader shared the letter that launched Project Cheetah.
In another set of tweets, Ramesh stated that the prime minister "hardly acknowledges continuity in governance," accusing him of orchestrating attention over the cheetahs, calling it "unwarranted" and "yet another diversion from pressing national issues."
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh also remarked on the cheetahs. Singh shared photos of the cats, while thanking former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, MP Jairam Ramesh, "and now Modi ji," but "above all" retired IAS officer Ranjitsinh, who led the campaign.
Assam AICC Incharge Jitendra Singh Alwar shared a timeline of events, noting that the proposal was first put forward in 2009, and that Rs 50 crore had been sanctioned and paid in 2011 itself.
He mentions that the Supreme Court had stayed the project in 2012, but later lifted the stay it in 2019.
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