Railways Minister Lalu Prasad today refuted criticism that the interim rail budget was Bihar-centric and claimed he has tried to do justice to all states.
He also said there was no "manipulation" in accounting to show higher profit of the railways and all account details have been given to the RBI.
Rejecting the allegation that the rail budget was Bihar-centric, Prasad said "it is not true. I have tried to do justice to all states. There are new projects and trains for others states, including UP, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala".
However, he hastened to add that Bihar had "suffered" for long as it did not get adequate fund for rail development.
Replying to a question from reporters after presneting the budget, he said, "There is no accounting manipulation. It was all because of the efforts put in by railwaymen. All account details have been given to the RBI."
He rued that though he expected to achieve a profit of Rs 1 lakh crores he could not do so because of recession.
Railways have earned about Rs 90,000 crores in the last five years.
Referring to removal of side middle berths in three tier coaches, he said "I have ordered for the removal of those berths because it was really becoming a problem for passengers."
