February 26, 2003
Press
Statement
The
Polit
Bureau
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
has
issued
the
following
statement:
On
the
Railway
Budget
The
Polit
Bureau
of
the
CPI(M)
strongly
denounces
the
attitude
of
the
Central
government
in
completely
disregarding
the
safety
aspect
of
the
Indian
railways.
Safety
has
become
a
big
casualty
in
the
recent
period.
The
railway
budget
presented
by
Railway
Minister,
Nitish
Kumar,
has
not
provided
sufficient
allocations
to
meet
the
safety
requirements.
The
railway
budget
proposes
introduction
of
50
new
trains,
increase
in
frequency
of
13
trains
and
extension
of
run
of
24
trains.
Nitish
Kumar
has
not
explained
how
the
additional
requirements
of
coaches
are
met.
If
the
railways
intends
to
use
old
coaches,
that
will
lead
to
more
railway
accidents.
The
rationalisation
of
freight
structure
is
a
camouflage
to
increase
freight
charges
in
the
case
of
certain
class
of
freights.
The
railway
budget
proposes
no
substantial
development
programmes.
It
lacks
vision
and
far
sightedness.