Amit Shah hails the Railway Budget 2016

Hailing the Railway Budget for "fulfilling" the expectations of all sections of society, BJP chief Amit Shah on Thursday 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 opposition parties criticising the Budget on various counts, Shah praised Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu for presenting a forward-looking Budget for the second year in a row that lays out the road map 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 reporters 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.

Three new classes of super fast trains will have more facilities for more passengers, he said.

The BJP chief also praised the budget for taking steps to give special reservation to woman passengers. About the proposal to start wi-fi services at 400 stations, he said nothing can be better for the youth.

The decision to take rail connectivity to ports will boost economy, he said.

The expansion of rail network in northeast states and Jammu and Kashmir is important from development as well as security points of view.