Not only West Bengal but the entire eastern part of the country has been ignored in the Railway Budget presented by Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda, Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Surjya Kanta Mishra said here on Tuesday.
“There have been a number of proposals for new trains that have been pending for long but, nothing has been done in this regard,” Dr. Mishra said, adding that the diamond quadrilateral proposed by the Railways cannot happen by not keeping Kolkata in the loop.
An even bigger issue is the decision that the Ministry of Railways will not have control on Railway fare which is going to affect the people of the country. “Now, permission from the Ministry will not be required to raise Railway fares and the fare can be increased anytime,” he said describing it as an “unprecedented example”.
Dr. Mishra came down on the proposal to introduce Foreign Direct Investment in the Railways and the initiative of public private partnership. He said it was an attempt to privatise the Railways.
Stating that the Union government must have a control over the Railways Dr. Mishra said, “This is an attack on our sovereignty and economy”. He said protest against these initiatives will take place not only in the State but across the country.
