Rail Budget low on content, high on rhetoric: Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress today dubbed as a "huge disappointment" the Railway Budget 2016-17, claiming it was "low on content and high on rhetoric".

"Rail Budget 2016-17 of the Modi government has proved to be a mere accounting exercise, bereft of any vision or direction for railway safety, expansion of railways by laying new lines, route electrification, punctuality and providing effective connectivity to remotest corners of India," Congress spokesman Ashwani Kumar and former Railway minister Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.

They said since the Modi government had increased rail fares by 20 per cent since it assumed office and taken several "anti-consumer, anti-people" steps, it did not surprise anyone that fares were not raised again.

"They raised the passenger fares when Parliament session ended and they will do the same through back door this time too," the Congress leaders claimed.

The budget came as a "huge disappointment" and can be best described as "low on content and high on rhetoric". The budget conceals more than what it reveals and fails on all benchmarks that have impact on the people at large.