Railway budget aims to serve local political ends: Jayalalithaa
February 25th, 2011 - 6:27 pm ICT by IANS
Chennai, Feb 25 (IANS) AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa Friday said that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has “hijacked national resources” through her railway budget to serve local political ends.Reacting to the railway budget presented by Banerjee in parliament, Jayalalithaa said in a statement here: “The overwhelming impression that a national resource has been hijacked by the minister to serve local political ends cannot be dispelled nor denied.”
“Mamata Banerjee has predictably presented the nation’s railways budget, 2011, keeping the assembly elections in her home state in mind. She has announced major projects for Nandigram and Singur where she had launched a successful political battle some years ago,” Jayalalithaa said.
Terming the railway budget as a common man’s budget to the extent that it does not envisage any hike in passenger or freight rates, Jayalalithaa said the railway ministry’s finances are in the doldrums as nothing imaginative has been done to raise additional revenue.
This would inflict huge damage on the national economy and push the world’s largest railway network (by a single operator) to the brink, she added.
“Several new projects have been announced. However, with most of the schemes announced in last year’s budget remaining unimplemented, the railway minister’s track record for project implementation is rather uninspiring,” Jayalalithaa remarked.
As regards Banerjee’s proposals pertaining to Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa said there is nothing much to exult about.
- Jayalalithaa disappointed with Rail Budget - Feb 25, 2011
- Mamata's Rail Budget is West Bengal poll manifesto, says BJP - Feb 25, 2011
- Budget pro-people, projects for all parts of India: Mamata - Feb 25, 2011
- Rail budget not biased towards West Bengal: Mamata - Feb 25, 2011
- Mamata Banerjee: Timeline of an intrepid politician - May 20, 2011
- UPA's encomiums, opposition salvos for Mamata's budget (Roundup) - Feb 25, 2011
- Land acquisition: Mamata gets dose of her own medicine - Jan 23, 2011
- Quiet freight hike to pull railways out of red - Mar 19, 2012
- Stress on safety, security, punctuality: Mukul Roy - Mar 26, 2012
- Kolkata dailies laud Mamata's budget, CPI-M critical - Feb 26, 2011
- Mamata's rail budget promises growth with human face(Lead) - Feb 25, 2011
- West Bengal welcomes Mamata's rail budget - Feb 25, 2011
- India's rail budget raises fares, focuses on safety (Intro Roundup) - Mar 14, 2012
- Mamata's budget a joke on people: BJP - Feb 25, 2011
- Funds remain main worry for expanding India's rail network - Feb 25, 2011
Tags: aiadmk, assembly elections, chennai, common man, doldrums, freight rates, general secretary, j jayalalithaa, major projects, mamata banerjee, nandigram, national economy, national resource, national resources, new projects, project implementation, railway budget, railway minister, railway network, singur