The State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the Centre of again overlooking the interests of Himachal Pradesh in the Railway budget presented in Parliament on Tuesday. The budget has no proposal for any fresh rail service to the backward hill State nor any plans for any type of extension of the rail network, State party spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said.
Despite being a border State, he said, there is no proposal to extend the rail line up to Manali or Leh as was proposed during the NDA regime.
The CPI (M) has also denounced the budget saying no budgetary provisions have been made for realising the much-propounded Bhanupali–Bilaspur rail line. There is only rhetoric in the budget with nothing concrete on record, it said
The State Congress has failed to mobilise its leadership at the Centre to help the State in expanding the rail network, State Secretariat member Tikender Panwar said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh thanked Railway Minister P.K. Bansal for proposing to undertake surveys for three new railway lines in Himachal Pradesh.
