'Budget does not persecute the people'

RAILWAY BUDGET 2005-06/ Q&A: Lalu Prasad, Railway Minister

After presenting the Railway Budget for 2005-06 to Parliament, Railway Minister Lalu Yadav addressed a group of journalists.

Your opponents are calling this a populist budget because for the second time in a row, you have not increased passenger fares despite the rising cost of fuel.

What else can I expect from the Opposition? My budget does not persecute people. Fuel prices may have gone up, but we have also increased passenger traffic by 6 per cent last year, so why should I raise passenger fares?

People refuse to see the positive side of our revenue collections, which have made it possible for us to keep passenger fares as they are. We have brought down accident rates.

During Nitish Kumar's time, there used to be accidents almost every other day. Why don't they see that? To keep the railways competitive, I have to offer them attractive fare options.

Has your being in Bihar throughout the budget-making process affected the railways' chances of getting increased budgetary support that they have sought from the Prime Minister's Office?

Even if I was in Bihar, I was in constant touch with railway board officials. They had been coming to Patna quite often, and getting the necessary direction from me.

In fact, we have already got Rs 7,200 crore from the Centre, with an additional support of Rs 1,700 crore. The Prime Minister has also promised us an additional Rs 3000 crore once the new financial year gets under way.

It has been said that you have been too busy with the Assembly elections in Bihar to actually give a vision to the railway budget and that the Prime Minister had to intervene in the matter.

Absolutely not. As I said before, I have been in touch with the railway board officials, and have been aware of everything as far as the budget exercise is concerned. I am the minister, not a clerk. I do not need to do everything. My task is to give vision to the document.

The meetings held by the Prime Minister were routine budget meetings which happened during the NDA regime as well. After all, we are part of the same government, that too a coalition one. There are many aspirations that need to be taken care of and the Prime Minister was only doing that.

Won't the reduction in the number of slabs for freight lead to increase in the prices of essential commodities as there is no differentiation between them and other goods?

First of all, we are expecting an additional income of around Rs 650 crore from rationalisation of tariffs, which is a big plus point.

Second, as per our calculations, costs of cooking gas is going to come down by 3 per cent rather than go up and, in fact, the price of petrol is going to come down by 4 per cent. The rationalisation of freight tariff is a huge step in reforming the system.

Would you characterise your budget as forward looking?

Absolutely. There is a Rs 24,000-crore modernisation plan, along with the introduction of the superfast train technology. Two trains, which will run at 150 kilometres per hour, have been announced this year.

This budget will be a milestone as, for the first time, public-private partnership is being encouraged, by giving over unused railway land and siding to private developers to build shopping malls and amusement parks.

Many states are feeling left out of the loop as, after a slew of trains for Bihar, you have introduced many trains for Tamil Nadu, ignoring the north eastern states, Kerala and Gujarat.

This is the beginning of my term. There were many demands from the south, which were addressed in this budget. I am the railway minister for the entire country. Be sure that nobody will be left out. The accusations made by states not ruled by the UPA, like Gujarat, are unfair.

In fact, in this budget, I have not done much for Bihar. Therefore, people should not complain of discrimination.