BJD, Cong slam raw deal to Odisha in rail budget; BJP apologetic

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Jul 8, 2014 at 3:49 PM Updated On : Jul 8, 2014 at 5:44 PM

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury

Bhubaneswar, July 8:

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Mocking the BJP claim of ushering in ‘achhe din’, the ruling BJD and opposition Congress today lambasted the Railway budget saying it has nothing for Odisha.

Both the parties vowed to raise their voices in the coming days against the raw deal given to the state, which desperately needs infrastructure growth and better connectivity for faster development of the people.

“The people, who are already suffering on account of the steep rail fare hike just before the railway budget, were expecting that Narendra Modi will fulfill his promise and allocate more funds for rail connectivity and announce new passenger services to the state. But, the Centre neglected the state in the rail budget presented in Parliament,” said PCC president Jaydev Jena.

Jena also hit out at the ruling BJD for not raising its voice forcefully before the Centre and alleged that it has cut a deal with the NDA government. “The BJD was always harping on central neglect during the UPA rule at Centre. But what happened now? Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, along with 24 MPs, had met Modi demanding more allocation. Did they get it? The meeting was a gimmick to fool the people,” said the PCC president declaring that the Congress party will take to the streets.

BJD also reacted sharply over the continuous neglect of the Centre to the railway sector in the state.

“We will definitely protest the neglect of BJP led NDA government. We will intensify our protest in a democratic manner,” said BJD MLA Amar Satpathy.

However, the state BJP tried to defend the move of Centre even though it indirectly admitted that Odisha had been ignored in the railway budget.

“The expectation of people was very high and it will take time to meet. Governance is not a magic. Even though Odisha did not get what it expected, we hope the Centre will consider and allocate more funds, including new services, in the days to come” said BJP leader Prithviraj Harichandan.