DMK to take up rail fare hike with PM

"DMK will not support any hike that will hit the poor," party chief M Karunanidhi said when reporters asked him about the railway fare hike announced by P K Bansal yesterday.

Replying to another question, he said his party would take up the matter with the Prime Minister through its MPs.

In the pre-budget measure, the government has announced an across-the-board increase in rail passenger fares with effect from January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year, the first such increase in a decade.

The hike coming a month before the presentation of railway budget has been slammed by opposition parties which have demanded a rollback.