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Rail Budget 2016: Opposition in Rajya Sabha has accused the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu government of raising rail fares through the 'backdoor', making the Indian Railways sick as it was being driven by loans and said the largest transporter needed a major surgery. The Opposition members also quoted Warren Buffet to say "when you shop for something you don't need, you will end selling things you need" and said it is time the government paid attention to real issues. Here are the top 10 points to note: (Reuters)
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1. Rail Budget 2016: Initiating the debate on the Railway Budget, Congress leader Ahmed Patel said while expenditure is high and the revenue less, "most of it is driven by loans. In the years to come, the loans will get accumulated if you follow the Gujarat model of development."
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2. Rail Budget 2016: Ahmed Patel accused the government of "using the back door" to increase price of tickets. "You now have premium Tatkal and Tatkal. Why are you using a back door to raise prices? Why don't you increase price through the budget itself?" (PTI)
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3. Rail Budget 2016: "Railways is bimaru", the budget is "sick" and the department needed a "big surgical operation", he said, adding while the Minister is good, the Railway is not doing good. (Reuters)
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4. Rail Budget 2016: Patel said if the government failed to pay attention to the real issues plaguing the sector and tries to copy models from outside, it will turn a fiasco. "It makes me wonder whether it is the Minister who is running the Ministry or the PMO," he said. (PTI)
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5. Rail Budget 2016: On passenger safety and comfort, Patel wondered why crimes on railways was increasing and demanded that the government should consider a bill on vendors brought by the UPA government earlier. (PTI)
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6. Rail Budget 2016: Taking a jibe at the government, the Congress leader said that two years have elapsed since the bullet train was announced but nobody knows its details. Ram Nath Thakur (JD-U) opposed the budget and sought to know what steps the government was taking to fulfill the announcements made by previous Railway Ministers and fill up a large number of vacancies in the Indian Railways.(Reuters)
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7. Rail Budget 2016: Defending the budget, R K Sinha (BJP) said the government was committed to overall reforms in the railways sector and was even acting on tweets of children which was a revolutionary step. Taking a cue from Patel, Naresh Agarwal (SP) said perhaps railway officers were suffering from paralysis as the practice of checking tracks and other safety measures have been stopped and no DRMs were found inspecting the affairs. He said also stressed the need to increase the speed of trains. (Reuters)
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8. Rail Budget 2016: Mansukhlal Mandavia (BJP) hailed the budget as one based on reality, while Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) termed it as a "visionary" budget. Raut also raised the issue of accident deaths in Mumbai local trains and tracks saying more persons have been killed in such accidents than in terrorist attacks and natural calamities. He said those living in Mumbai fear local trains more than terrorist and natural calamities. (PTI)
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9. Rail Budget 2016: Supporting the budget and expressing happiness over the allocation to Odisha, he said if railways have to subsidise tickets, the finance ministry should make monetary provisions like what is made on petroleum products and fertilisers. He also wanted a bigger rail network in Odisha citing its revenue contribution to railways. (PTI)
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1. AADHAAR CARD BASICS: Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India. Aadhaar letter received via India Post and e-Aadhaar downloaded from UIDAI website are equally valid. (PTI)
