Oppn cries foul, govt rejoices

The Railway Budget was met with mixed reactions by political parties in Maharashtra. While the Opposition panned Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s largesse as “empty promises”, the government praised her, reports HT Correspondent.

The Railway Budget was met with mixed reactions by political parties in Maharashtra. While the Opposition panned Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s largesse as “empty promises”, the government praised her.

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Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Member of the Legislative Council Vinod Tawde claimed the Budget only doled out incentives for Banerjee’s state, West Bengal.

The Budget allotted 101 new train rakes for Mumbai and also 117 new long-distance services. The Opposition, however, claimed that the Railway Board — which handles the railways’ functioning — had not cleared these allotments.

“Neither the Railway Board nor the Finance Commission have approved the 117 new train announcements. The announcements are only on paper,” said senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde.

The state government was happy with the Budget. “We are thankful to the Union Government for giving us new trains, 101 new services for Mumbai and the grant for finishing the Mumbai Urban Transport Project’s Phase 2 by 2014,” said Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.

However, the allotment of 101 new rakes for Mumbai did not impress the Opposition. “Though Banerjee has given 101 new services, she has completely ignored the Konkan,” said Tawde.