11-23-2006, 01:15 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Railway turnaround a hoax, says Nitish </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
The story of the railway turnaround is a hoax propagated by a man who is a master media manipulator.
This is how Bihar Chief Minister and former railway minister Nitish Kumar counters Lalu Prasad's claim of putting the railway back on the profit track.
A man who generally avoids getting into controversy, Nitish Kumar on Wednesday pulled no punches in demolishing Lalu's claim of changing the face of Indian Railway. Kumar pointed out that the Indian Railway has never been in loss and claims of turnaround are misleading and inappropriate.
"I'm shocked to hear Lalu Prasad's claim of turnaround. In my last years as railway minister of the NDA Government, railway earned a profit of Rs 6,000 cr," Kumar said. The Bihar Chief Minister was talking to reporters on the eve of completion of one year in office.
<b>Kumar pointed out that Lalu Prasad had hiked the freight charges on several goods and introduced across-the-board rise in passengers' fare through a series of indirect measures.</b>
<b>"Today itself I learnt that fertilisers' freight charges have gone up by as much as 26 per cent and a much bigger hike has been imposed on carriage of steel products. I had brought about measures to rationalise the freight charges. Lalu Prasad has completely destroyed the system by acting on whims and fancies," </b>Kumar said.
<b>He said that railway revenue may have gone up, but other ministries of the Government are forced to pay towards it. "One hand of the Government is paying to the other hand. It's a bizarre situation."</b>
Kumar was also critical of Lalu Prasad for riding roughshod over the objection of the railway safety commission for overloading of goods carriage beyond the permissible capacity.
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"This is another way of increasing the revenue, but it has serious safety implications in the long run,"</b> he said.
Kumar was critical of the UPA Government for allowing Lalu Prasad freedom to act in such an irresponsible manner in manipulating the profit of the railway.
<b>"I'm shocked that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister PC Chidambaram have not taken note of the long-term damage Lalu Prasad in inflicting on the Indian Railway," </b>he said.
Kumar also pooh-pooed Lalu Prasad's claim of not increasing passenger fare during his tenure. <b>"In the name of super fast trains, the railway is charging Rs 20 surcharge. But hundreds of these trains are still running at the same speed," </b>he said.
Taking Lalu Prasad to task for squandering railway resources for image building, Kumar said that<b> the railway was forced to spend huge amount of money to build a personality cult around a man, who is trying to take the credit of good work done during the NDA Government. </b>
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Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
The story of the railway turnaround is a hoax propagated by a man who is a master media manipulator.
This is how Bihar Chief Minister and former railway minister Nitish Kumar counters Lalu Prasad's claim of putting the railway back on the profit track.
A man who generally avoids getting into controversy, Nitish Kumar on Wednesday pulled no punches in demolishing Lalu's claim of changing the face of Indian Railway. Kumar pointed out that the Indian Railway has never been in loss and claims of turnaround are misleading and inappropriate.
"I'm shocked to hear Lalu Prasad's claim of turnaround. In my last years as railway minister of the NDA Government, railway earned a profit of Rs 6,000 cr," Kumar said. The Bihar Chief Minister was talking to reporters on the eve of completion of one year in office.
<b>Kumar pointed out that Lalu Prasad had hiked the freight charges on several goods and introduced across-the-board rise in passengers' fare through a series of indirect measures.</b>
<b>"Today itself I learnt that fertilisers' freight charges have gone up by as much as 26 per cent and a much bigger hike has been imposed on carriage of steel products. I had brought about measures to rationalise the freight charges. Lalu Prasad has completely destroyed the system by acting on whims and fancies," </b>Kumar said.
<b>He said that railway revenue may have gone up, but other ministries of the Government are forced to pay towards it. "One hand of the Government is paying to the other hand. It's a bizarre situation."</b>
Kumar was also critical of Lalu Prasad for riding roughshod over the objection of the railway safety commission for overloading of goods carriage beyond the permissible capacity.
<b>
"This is another way of increasing the revenue, but it has serious safety implications in the long run,"</b> he said.
Kumar was critical of the UPA Government for allowing Lalu Prasad freedom to act in such an irresponsible manner in manipulating the profit of the railway.
<b>"I'm shocked that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister PC Chidambaram have not taken note of the long-term damage Lalu Prasad in inflicting on the Indian Railway," </b>he said.
Kumar also pooh-pooed Lalu Prasad's claim of not increasing passenger fare during his tenure. <b>"In the name of super fast trains, the railway is charging Rs 20 surcharge. But hundreds of these trains are still running at the same speed," </b>he said.
Taking Lalu Prasad to task for squandering railway resources for image building, Kumar said that<b> the railway was forced to spend huge amount of money to build a personality cult around a man, who is trying to take the credit of good work done during the NDA Government. </b>
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