Bengal-oriented Railway Budget

Opposition today slammed the Railway Budget saying it will promote regional imbalance and criticised its use to promote political ends. Initiating the general discussion on the Railway Budget in the Rajya Sabha, Kalraj Mishra of BJP said Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been neglected and most of the projects have gone to West Bengal. He also referred to late running of trains, lack of safety for passengers and addition of a mere 11,000 km of tracks since independence.Mr Mishra lamented that the pace of electrification was very slow and pointed out that China has taken rapid strides in Railway development in a short period. Participating in the debate, P Madhu of the CPI-M said that the Budget has preferred some states and not the whole of the country. He alleged that it has preferred politics over governance. He added that sanctioning railway projects for political gains is harmful. Prof Saifuddin Soz of the Congress emphasized on safety and cleanliness of trains and stations and timely running of trains and asked why a rail coach factory could not be set up in Srinagar. He said unless Udhampur is connected with Qajigund and Baramulla, Kashmir cannot be said to be on India's railway map. He also complimented the Railway Minister for preparing a vision budget for faster growth of railways in future. The discussion is continuing.