Privatisation has "jeopardised" railways and "endangered" safety of passengers across the world, All India Railwaymens Federation on Tuesday claimed and threatened an indefinite strike if the Centre goes ahead with "plans of selling the sector".
"We are meeting the committee (formed by the government to look into the privatisation issue) tomorrow in Delhi. We will try our level best to negotiate on the issue and convince the government of India that they should not go ahead with the plan of the privatisation.
"But if they do not agree for any settlement with our federation, then definitely, we will ask all our colleagues, associations, unions and federations of the railways and jointly we will go on an indefinite strike," general secretary of All India Railwaymens Federation, Shiva Gopal Mishra, told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He said the employees were opposing the move as the system of railways has been "jeopardised" wherever privatisation had been done the world over.
"We are opposing the privatisation of Indian railways because our railways is entirely different from the other railways world over.
"Here the railway transport is the system for the poorest of the poor. And in other countries, they have multi-transport systems. Moreover, we have seen, across the world, that wherever the privatisation has come, the systems of the railways have been jeopardised. The safety has been endangered," he said.
"Moreover, the subsidy to be given to the private entrepreneurs have been increased. So, in our country the privatisation of the Indian railways does not stand anywhere, because it is the cheapest mode for the common people of this country," he said.
Railway minister DV Sadananda Gowda, in his maiden railway budget, had promising to move ahead on the proposal for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Railways. Gowda had said, "We are seeking Cabinet nod to allow FDI in Railway Sector."
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