Amarinder blames Badals for delay in Ferozepur-Chandigarh rail

Senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh on Saturday extended his support to the residents of Ferozepur and its surrounding areas who have been agitating demanding train services to Chandigarh via Ludhiana, and blamed the Badals for the delay.

In a statement here, Congress's Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Singh accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of "wilfully delaying" the project as "it would impact his transport business".

He said the residents of Ferozepur genuinely feel that it is Badal who is discouraging early beginning of the rail project announced by the Railway Minister in this year's budget. "Ideally the Chief Minister should have pressed for early start of the train as it had been approved in the rail budget," Singh said, adding "but knowing the Badals' business interests which are going to be affected by this train he will be the last person to allow it to run".

He said the railways had started a special train between Ferozepur and Chandigarh via Ludhiana in March for about one- and-a-half months. It had come as great relief for the people of Ludhiana and Ferozepur, but, Singh claimed, the Badals ensured that the train was taken off so that their transport business remained intact.

The Congress leader said he would soon be leading a delegation from Ferozepur to the Union Railway minister to press for the demand.