led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government and the BJP on Thursday hailed the Rail Budget presented by Suresh Prabhu in Parliament, saying it is a continuation of work in progress initiated, last year, with a focus on “common man and poor”, inducting no hike in fare and freight.
The Prime Minister said the Budget and the schemes announced “will play a key role” in the country’s “rejuvenation”.
Praising the Railway Budget for “fulfilling” the expectations of all sections of the society, BJP president Amit Shah said it was for the common man with special attention to the poor and cited announcement of new unreserved trains and no hike in fares or freight.
With the Opposition parties criticising the Budget on various counts, Shah praised the Railway Minister for presenting a forward-looking Budget for the second year in a row that lays out the roadmap for “solid works with solid programmes”, unlike the past budgets which made “short-term announcements”.
“This fulfils the expectations of all sections. It is inclusive, for the common man with special attention to the poor,” he told mediapersons soon after the Budget was tabled in Parliament.
Referring to launch of super fast unreserved ‘Antyodya’ Express and ‘Deen Dayalu’ unreserved coaches with potable water, he said they would provide a lot of comfort to people and added that no hike in fares for second year was “a good news for the common man.”
Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu maintained that the Budget is a continuation of work in progress initiated last year “with the objective of putting the system on track with focus on improvement of systems.”
It clearly outlined the efforts to ensure professional management of the vast system with focus on efficiency of operations, cost reduction, improved project management.
“Rrailway Budget rightly placed emphasis on improving customer satisfaction ranging from the infant babies to senior citizens. Seeking to make the Indian Railways modern, a range of technology induction has been proposed which would go a long way in improving customer experience and systems improvement,” Naidu said.
The Budget rightly seeks to increase capital expenditure which was neglected over the years in recent past, the Minister said.
Praising the “futuristic and visionary” Railway Budget, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said it gives due importance to the poor and reflects Modi’s vision of making India strong.
“It is passenger-centric; facilities and security will be increased and, for the first time, the poorest of the poor have been given due importance,” he said.
“It is passenger-centric; facilities and security will be increased and, for the first time, the poorest of the poor have been given due importance,” he said.
Javadekar said those who are criticising the Railway Budget need to study the budget documents.
“They (Opposition) have lost the habit of studying the document and only listen to the speech. The speech is a direction to tell the nation how the railways will progress,” he said.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda said an increase in the outlay for railway projects in Himachal Pradesh in the budget would give a big boost to the interior rail network in the State and big push to the tourism industry by providing greater connectivity.
Thanking Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, he said the budget was a major step towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
The Minister said the allocation for Himachal Pradesh has been increased from Rs 255 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 310 crore in 2016-17 also new projects of gauge conversion of Pathankot-Joginder Nagar line and laying of new line from Joginder Nagar to Mandi have been approved.
Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma termed the Railway Budget as “realistic” which would strengthen the existing railway system and boost economic growth.
“This is not a populist budget or an election budget. The Railway Minister has taken initiative to strengthen the existing system, starting from cleanliness and convenience to digitalisation”, the Minister said.