MPCC protests at CST station against rail fare hike

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee ( MPCC) today staged a protest at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station here against the railway fare hike and demanded its rollback.

The protest was led by state unit chief Manikrao Thakare.

The protestors shouted slogans against the fare hike which they said "will cripple the common man" and demanded its immediate rollback.

They also criticised the Narendra Modi government for burdening the common man.

The protestors, including Thakare, boarded the 11.04 AM Thane local without tickets as a mark of protest.

Congress ministers Mohammed Naseem Khan, Varsha Gaikwad, Mumbai Congress unit president Janardan Chandurkar, legislators Kripashankar Singh, Rajhans Singh, Anant Gadgil and Haribhau Rathod were among the prominent party leaders along with MPCC functionaries present on the occasion.

In a pre-budget move, the cash-strapped railways had last week effected a steep across-the-board hike of 14.2 per cent in passenger fares in all classes and a 6.5 per cent increase in freight rates to garner Rs 8,000 crore a year.