The communist Party of India(Marxist) Polit Bureau said the party was opposed to the privatisation measures announced in the budget and demanded that they should not be taken forward. They also said that a proposal to hand over major railway stations in New Delhi, Mumbai, Patna and Secunderabad to private players for development has been made in the budget. Private players were also going to be involved in setting up diesel and electric locomotive and coach factories. Outsourcing and privatisation of on-board cleaning in super fast mail and express trains were also announced.
The CPI (M) said States that have faced discrimination particularly in north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir, which was bound to give rise to discontent. The targets set for 2008-09 for new lines, gauge conversion, doubling and electrification were too low given the substantial financial resources available. Similarly, the outlaws and targets set for enhancing safety and security in the Railways have not matched the claims made in the Minister's speech. There is no room for complacency on this count given the still high number of railway accidents and Railways becoming target of terrorist attacks.
Describing it as "very disappointing," the Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said that MPs from different States staged a walk-out during presentation of the budget. Without giving any specifics, he alleged that Mr. Prasad made announcements every year on new trains but a majority of them do not start operation. He also claimed that not one unmanned crossing had been converted into a manned crossing over the last one year. He said that incidents of crime in trains had been on the rise and there was lack of cleanliness in stations and trains.
The CPI (M) said States that have faced discrimination particularly in north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir, which was bound to give rise to discontent. The targets set for 2008-09 for new lines, gauge conversion, doubling and electrification were too low given the substantial financial resources available. Similarly, the outlaws and targets set for enhancing safety and security in the Railways have not matched the claims made in the Minister's speech. There is no room for complacency on this count given the still high number of railway accidents and Railways becoming target of terrorist attacks.
Describing it as "very disappointing," the Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said that MPs from different States staged a walk-out during presentation of the budget. Without giving any specifics, he alleged that Mr. Prasad made announcements every year on new trains but a majority of them do not start operation. He also claimed that not one unmanned crossing had been converted into a manned crossing over the last one year. He said that incidents of crime in trains had been on the rise and there was lack of cleanliness in stations and trains.
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