Left leaders flay railway budget as 'directionless'

The left parties on Thursday criticised the railway budget as directionless and a move towards privatisation of the Indian Railways.

Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury said there was nothing new in the budget and it was not people-friendly.

"People were expecting a lot from this budget but it is far from reality. It's totally a directionless budget," he said.

CPI leader D. Raja said: "There is nothing on expected lines in the budget and gives nothing in terms of passenger safety and civic amenities."

"It's a directionless budget which has nothing for the common people. We are disappointed," CPI-M leader Mohammad Salim told reporters here.

He accused the government of pushing the Indian Railways into private hands.

"This government is following a policy of liberalisation and privatisation of the railways. They have only tried to use the railways for funding private players and the focus is on marketing and advertisement only," he said.

"There is only 'mann ki baat' in this budget and not 'jan ki baat'," the CPI-M leader added.