Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has described the railway fare hike the "last nail in the coffin" of the Congress-led UPA government. He said the union government was least sensitive to the hardships of the common man despite its tall claims to be the votary of the 'aam
aadmi'.
In a statement, the chief minister said the hike of 2-10 paise per km in the fare was a stab in the back of countrymen, especially the poor, for whom the train was the only viable public carrier. Badal said people across the nation belonging to different strata of society felt ditched and dejected. He said this hike would put a hole in the pocket of the common man.
Reacting sharply to media reports regarding the purported move of the UPA government to hike the price of subsidised LPG gas cylinders by Rs. 130, besides deregulating diesel through the hike of Re 1 per litre in its price every month for the next 10 to 15 months, Badal assailed the Centre for inflicting another severe blow to the countrymen.
Cautioning the UPA government to desist from such anti-people moves lest the people teach a befitting lesson to them in the Lok Sabha polls, Badal said, "The UPA can't take the innocent voters of the country for a ride as one can befool a person only once and not everyone for all times to come."