Railway Budget not pro-people: Mamata
Trinamool Congress chief and former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sharply reacted to the Rail Budget saying that this could not be dubbed as 'pro-people'.
In a hard-hitting comment on the Rail Budget presented by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar, Banerjee said, ''this is a positive Budget for the business class and negative one for the common people''.
She said the railway minister had chosen the 'cheap' option of passing the burden on the common people by increasing passenger fares and hiking freight charges on all essential commodities.
Stating that when she was the minister she had tried to generate revenue through non-traditional sources, Banerjee said the railway minister had reduced the fare of AC first class and hiked the fare of AC chair car mostly availed by the students and common men.
''I don't believe in the politics of putting burden on common people and sparing the upper class. I only understand the people's economics and not this, which believes in giving relief to the upper class who constitute one per cent'', she said.
Despite her adverse reaction, the Trinamool Congress leader, however, said her party would not quit the ruling NDA.
''I will give my opinion to the NDA'', she said.
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The Rail Budget 2002-03
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Run-Up To The Budget
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