DMK to take up rail fare hike with PM

CHENNAI: DMK, a key constituent of UPA, today said it would not support any hike that might affect the poor and the party MPs would take up the latest rail fare increase issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"DMK will not support any hike that will hit the poor," party chief M Karunanidhi said when reporters asked him about the railway fare hike announced by P K Bansal yesterday.

Replying to another question, he said his party would take up the matter with the Prime Minister through its MPs.

In the pre-budget measure, the government has announced an across-the-board increase in rail passenger fares with effect from January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year, the first such increase in a decade.

The hike coming a month before the presentation of railway budget has been slammed by opposition parties which have demanded a rollback.