This Article is From Mar 14, 2012

Political reactions to Railway Budget 2012

Political reactions to Railway Budget 2012
New Delhi: Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi presented his first Railway Budget today. Here are the political reactions to it:

  • A sarcastic Akhilesh (of Samajwadi Party) on many new trains for Bengal: Most trains go via UP. So we can stop them here and board them.

  • Pranab Mukherjee, Congress: Proposal, which the railway minister has made it, will prove for building up the capacity

  • Derek O'Brien, Trinamool Congress: Railway Budget... what was all that about increasing fares across the board? Upper class... maybe ok... but all? Sorry,cannot agree.

  • J Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister: Although the State Government has identified the need for introducing 16 new trains connecting important destinations within the State as well as with destinations outside the State, only 10 new trains have been proposed to be introduced in the current year - that too not as requested by Tamil Nadu.   

  • Naveen Patnaik, Odisha Chief Minister: "I must say I am disappointed with the Railway Budget that was presented today in the Parliament. Passenger fares have been increased which will adversely affect the common man, the many many people who make up the masses in India, which also includes the state of Odisha."

  • Sadananda Gowda, Karnataka Chief Minister: The Railway Budget is not encouraging so far as the State of Karnataka is concerned. Karnataka deserved more as it is the first State in the entire country to come forward to share 50% of the Project Costs. The Railway Minister should have been liberal to the State of Karnataka in taking up new projects and introducing new trains.

  • Yashwant Sinha, BJP: Rates should have increased long ago but in small doses, not in a chunk like this

  • Yashwant Sinha, BJP: Rail Minister increased freight rates but didnt even mention it in the #RailBudget, this is not right

  • Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister: This is just like an empty box, there is nothing in this for public

  • Lalu Prasad Yadav, RLD: We kept on reducing fares when I was minister, still we had a profit of Rs7,000 crore

  • Sitaram Yechury, CPM: It's absolute double standards. First, Trinamool ministers in Cabinet clear President speech with mention of NCTC in it and then they go and ask for deletion. The Rail Budget is cleared by government of which Dinesh is a part, and then they go and protest

  • Girija Vyas, Congress: As far as the fares are concerned, they were not raised for a long time. The hike is very minor in view of the rise in fuel prices

  • YSR Congress Party: Describing the Railway Budget 2012-13 as disappointing and has chugged the appeasing track, YSR Congress Party said the Andhra Pradesh has got a raw deal and the Congress MPs failed in representing the interests of the State.

.