Date:04/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/04/stories/2009070460891200.htm

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BJP, Lalu criticise rail budget; PM showers praise

Special Correspondent

Lalu Prasad

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had done a “very competent job in a short period of time.” In his statement on the budget, Dr. Singh said he was appreciative of the fact that Ms. Banerjee had presented a budget without imposing any burden by way of increase in freight charges or passenger fare.

“At the same time she has, in keeping with our party’s election promise, focused on improving amenities for passengers, improving safety and security of the railways and making rail travel a desirable experience. She has outlined a programme of modernising 50 railway stations to world class standards.

A large number of facilities have been included by way of using the innovative finance mechanism of public-private partnerships to improve the productivity of the Railways and to finance more investment,” Dr. Singh observed.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) described the budget as a fantasy that held out no hope for change. BJP Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, described the concept of non-stop trains as “thoughtless.”

The BJP leader wondered how a train like the proposed weekly from Ernakulam to Delhi could run the entire stretch without a stop. “Will it not run out of water and would it not need to stop to pick up food. Won’t it need technical stops? And, if a technical stop is needed, won’t there be demands for this halt to be at a major station,” Ms. Swaraj said.

However, she did have a word of appreciation regarding the special trains for women, the Yuva trains and the Rs. 25 monthly pass for workers from the unorganised sector.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, described the budget as a routine exercise devoid of vision. Stating that railway tracks had not been improved and that the budget offered no good tidings on that front, Mr. Jaitley said the promise to modernise stations was an empty one.

“We have been hearing this since the last six years, but nothing has changed on the ground.”

The former Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad, said Ms. Banerjee appeared to be suffering from a complex because “I was hailed by all as a great Railway Minister.”

Describing some of her proposals — particularly double-decker trains and non-stop services — as impractical, Mr. Prasad questioned the need for a White Paper on the organisational, operational and financial status of the Railways based on the last five-year performance.