The Opposition in Lok Sabha on July 11 accused the Narendra Modi government of trying to sell off railway assets instead of focusing on services, but the BJP asserted that the transport behemoth is breaking new ground everyday especially in areas of infrastructure and safety.
During a debate on demands for grants under the Ministry of Railways, the Congress, the Trinamool and other parties tore into the government as they opposed alleged attempts to privatise the railways and claimed it was “selling dreams” like the bullet train to the people, which were not feasible
Taking a swipe at the government, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the Aviation Minister wants to sell Air India, the Railway Minister wants to sell its assets and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he alleged, will “one day sell the country”. He said the BJP-led NDA government has consistently failed to meet its targets since it came to power first in 2014 and mocked its statement of ₹50 lakh crore investment in the coming years. It is like seeking a tent to sleep when there is not even a mat, he said while initiating the debate.
The Congress leader noted that while Mr. Modi had stated that railways will not be privatised, the Budget talks about public private partnership, corporatisation and disinvestment. “It is clear you intend to sell its assets,” Mr. Chowdhury said. The Railways’ operating ratio was 98.4% in 2017-18, he said adding its revenue and expenditure fell short of official claims. “But you do not stop selling dreams,” he said.
The Congress leader said the government was talking about bullet train while the freight services were suffering and said it has “become a government of MoU”. He accused the government of privatising profit-making production units of Railways, including the one in Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury speaks in the House on July 11, 2019. Photo: Twitter/LSTV
NCP MP Supriya Sule sought an assurance from the government that it would not privatise the Railways. Ms. Sule said unlike Air India, where government is trying for disinvestment, the Minister should assure the house it wouldn’t privatise the Railways.
Trinamool Congress member Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the bullet train concept is not possible in India and it is a “hoax”. “It is a hoax and a false promise. It is bogus on Indian soil,” he added.
Ms. Sule too took a swipe at the government over the delay in bullet train project, saying like the BJP’s 2014 poll slogan of achche din , the promise of bullet train may also remain unfulfilled.
Mr. Bandyopadhyay said that the government should look at railway bridges which are over 100 years old as it involves safety and security of passengers. He said there is a huge vacancy for gangmen which has reached 2 lakh and also a shortage of rail drivers. “When will you fill these vacancies,” he said, adding more attention needs to be given to complete dedicated freight corridor projects. He added that base kitchen, cleanliness, food safety and quality should get priority. He also claimed that integrating rail budget with general budget has not helped the railway sector.
Countering the Opposition’s allegations, BJP MP Sunil Kumar Singh said the performance of Railways is much better now that it was under the Congress rule and it was achieving new milestones. Railway accidents have drastically reduced by 73% in the five-year period of the Modi government from 2014 to 2019, he noted.
Mr. Singh slammed the previous Congress governments and said during their time, “the interest of leaders and party politics were priorities while the nation’s interest comes first for the NDA government”. He said the capital expenditure more than doubled to ₹4.97 lakh crore during 2014-19 compared to ₹2.3 lakh crore in 2009-14. He said government has set a target of capital expenditure of ₹1.6 lakh crore in the current financial year.
Participating in the debate, DMK member Kanimozhi alleged that that Railways still employ manual scavengers, and said “it is a shame for the nation”. She alleged the government wants to hide this by appointing them through contractors. She said all sign boards on Railways stations are in Hindi, and demanded they should be in regional languages as well.
Rajan Vichare (Shiv Sena), Dileshwar Kamait (JD (U)), C. Sahoo (BJD) and Fazlur Rahman (BSP) also participated in the discussions.
Mr. Rahman said bullet train is being planned only for few people and if the government would spend half of the amount on small cities, it will help in improving Railways.
BJP MP Gopal Chinayya Shetty pitched for encouraging public private partnership (PPP) model to boost the country’s progress. “PPP model is the only solution and would lead the country to progress. It can only provide facilities to the people,” Mr. Shetty said.
A lot of work was being undertaken for the development of Railways, Sudhir Gupta (BJP) said, adding work was progressing at a fast pace in the Northeast.
‘Railways’ capital expenditure doubled during NDA rule’
Intervening in the debate, Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi also highlighted the doubling of capital expenditure for railways during NDA rule. He also pitched for parliamentarians to play a lead role in maintaining cleanliness in trains and stations.
Terming trains “mini-India”, the Minister said just like in the Lok Sabha members from different ideologies and parties sit together, people from different walks of life and states share train bogies.
Mr. Angadi said after the NDA came to power, separate Railway budget was done away with and the functioning of the organisation was made “apolitical”.
He said, “Railways connects the entire country the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi has connected India to the world through yoga.”
