The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday hailed the Railway Budget as “revolutionary”, and said it was the first step towards putting the Railways back on track and ensuring world-class services to travellers.
Party president Rajnath Singh said the budget was remarkable in many ways as it was full of innovative ideas. He said Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda deserved credit for it.
“Rail Budget 2014 sets safety, hygiene and speed as priority areas for the Indian Railways, which is definitely a positive start. I am confident that this budget will put the Indian Railways back on the fast track of development and expansion,” Mr. Singh said.
Party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi described the Railway Budget as a “revolutionary bullet budget,” and said “the journey of Railways has begun on a world-class track.”
The BJP leaders dismissed the Congress’s criticism of the Budget, and said the process of streamlining the Railways and offering world-class services to passengers had been initiated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been advocating the need to introduce high-speed trains, tweeted from his personal handle: “Congratulations to the Railway Minister for presenting a futuristic & growth-oriented budget. It is a budget for the common people… now Rail Budget aspires for better service, speed & safety. It is an effort to create a modern Railways contributing towards a developed India.”
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Budget reflected the government’s commitment towards strengthening Railways, completing projects, modernising passenger amenities and, above all, improving governance.
Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu described it as an honest account of the ills plaguing the Railways and the way forward.
“It is a realistic, comprehensive and honest account of the ills of management of Indian Railways over the years that pushed the transport lifeline of the country into deep difficulties. It conveys the government’s fresh thinking about quick completion of projects languishing over decades through prioritised investments for better returns on investments. [The proposal for] Introduction of bullet and high-speed trains through required augmentation of safety and other related infrastructure is a quantum jump, which is long overdue. Emphasis on modernisation, safety and passenger amenities and development of infrastructure through additional resource mobilisation is aimed at meeting the aspirations of millions of rail-goers,” he said.
