Welfare Party of India has strongly criticised the interim rail budget introduced by Union Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge, calling it disappointing and damaging. WPI National General Secretary Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas, in a statement on February 12, alleged the minister of ‘undue favouritism to his home state’ negating due share and justice to other states.
“In allotting new trains and projects, the minister has ignored backwardness and demands pending for many years from various quarters. Though the minister has played clever tactic of non-hike of fare for the time being, the policy statement of further revision of fares linking with fuel charge is highly damaging and detrimental to the interests of millions of commuters,” said the statement.
Dr. Ilyas alleged that the minister has ignored the fact of Indian Railways being the carrier of common people. “Leaving fare revision right on the basis of market fuel rate to the tariff regulatory board will be detrimental to the common people, as has been witnessed in the case of petroleum products,” he said.
Dr. Ilyas also criticised the minister’s policy to depend on PPP as a source of resource mobilisation for expansion and development. PPP practice has been a failure in the past. “Welfare Party of India doubts that this is a covert step for gradual privatisation of this PSU that gives the largest employment to the countrymen. The Welfare Party is of the strong opinion that the required fund can be generated by effective utilisation of the resources under possession of the railways and internal mobilisation,” the statement further said.
Dr. Ilyas also alleged that the intermittent changes of ministerial guards at the top have left the Indian Railways inefficient and directionless. “The budget proposals presented in the Parliament by Mr. Kharge do not give details regarding connection and link with earlier announcements made by his predecessors and follow-ups made to earlier decisions,” he alleged.