Samajwadi workers halt train to protest rail hike

Samajwadi Party (SP) workers today brought a train to halt while protesting the central government's rail fare hike. The Ganga Gomti express was brought to a halt by party workers while it was enroute to Lucknow.

A protesting SP worker, Sandeep Yadav said, "We had the train stopped for half an hour and we will not stop this protest until there is a change. We are totally against the rail fare hike.Since Modi has arrived, inflation is happening."

The Central government's decision to increase rail passenger fares by 14.2 percent and freight rates by 6.5 percent have met with a stiff resistance from opposition parties.

Congress workers in Bhopal on Friday also protested against the government's decision to hike railway fare.

Former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said the railway fare hike was definitely not the beginning of good days for the country.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat also said that this showed the hypocritical nature of the present government.

"We strongly condemn this, and this shows the hypocrisy of the government, this will be a huge burden on the people. We demand its reversal," said Karat.