SP, BSP, JD(U) too ask for rail fare hike rollback

NEW DELHI: A day after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee favoured the withdrawal of rail fare hikes for the general and sleeper classes as such a move would “hit the poor,’’ the Samajwadi Party, BSP and JD(U) too demanded a rollback.

Participating in the debate on the rail budget, with the new railway minister Mukul Roy in attendance, the three ‘social justice’ parties mounted pressure on the government to maintain status-quo in the fares of the non-AC classes, used mainly by ``the poor and the downtrodden.’’

Earlier in the day, Roy was sworn in as the new railway minister, replacing party colleague Dinesh Trivedi, who had to pay the price for daring to propose an increase in the farestructure for all classes, including the sleeper and general classes. As soon as the House assembled for the day, the prime minister introduced Roy.

With the West Bengal chief minister setting the tone for a partial rollback in fares, and the government managers dropping enough hints to suggest that they were not averse to the idea, Roy has his task cut out. He’s likely to reply to the discussion in the rail budget in the Lok Sabha on Thursday and announce withdrawal of hikes proposed for the general and sleeper classes.

Backing the hike proposed in the AC fares, Samajwadi Party member Rewati Raman Singh argued against disturbing the travelling cost of general and sleeper classes. “There should be rollback in the fares of these two classes, frequented by the poor,’’ he said.

BSP leader in the Lok Sabha, Dara Singh Chauhan, too, dished out a similar argument.

“Trains are the first priority for the poor while charting out their travel plans. As such, the fares of the general and sleeper classes should be kept low. The poor have been disappointed by the announcements made in the rail budget. His concern should be addressed by the new railway minister. The general and sleeper class fares should be slashed. If possible, AC fare-hikes too should be withdrawn,’’ the BSP member contended.

Banerjee had indicated that there will be a partial modification in fare hike proposals contained in the rail budget. “If our nominee will become the railway minister, then we will modify the fares.