Sharad Yadav flays fare hike, seeks spl package for railway

JD(U) president Sharad Yadav oncriticised the hike in train fares in the railway budget and said that the Centre should give a special package if it was serious about development of the Railways.

"The rail fare hike cannot be a panacea for the Railways and if the Centre really cared for its development then it should grant it a special package", Yadav told reporters at a function here.

Without mentioning the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he said if the Centre could spend crores of Rupees on a sports event then it should have no problem in allocating funds to the Railways for development.

The government must cater to infrastructure and development needs of the railways, described as the national lifeline, he said.

Describing the union budget as inflationary, the JD(U) leader said the prices of commodities were bound to rise again due to hike in taxes of industrial goods.

Yadav claimed that the Congress had lost ground as was evident from the recent assembly elections in five states which would also reflect on the stability of the UPA government.

The JD(U) leader did not rule out a mid-term poll in the country.

On the possibility of a third front by regional parties, Yadav said that such a front was yet to take shape.

The JD(U) president on a visit to his parliamentary constituency Saharsa flagged off a new train Rajrani Express (12567) at the Saharsa railway station.