BJP leaders term rail fare hike a strong and effective measure

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Siddharth Nath Singh defended the rail fare hike, calling it a strong and effective measure to counter Congress' failure.

Naqvi told ANI, "Correction of the Congress' failures is the priority," adding, "The challenges the country is facing is an inheritance passed by the people who are protesting against it."

He added, "The Modi government was trying to take strong and effective measures. Soon people will realise that measures that are being taken is to rid people of their problems."

Meanwhile, BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh said, "Any government faces two choices, to go for the growth or to give doles in the form of vote bank, the decision taken by PM Narendra Modi's government is to bring India out of the economic mess left by the earlier UPA-II government."

About the railway hike, he said, "It was a decision that the previous government had already taken in February but they did not announce it because of the upcoming elections and the vote bank consideration and, therefore, left the decision to the new government."

The government has increased rail passenger fares by 14.2 percent and freight rates by 6.5 percent, which has led to an outcry by the opposition parties.