West Bengal’s politicians and businesspersons came together to express their disappointment over the Rail Budget. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came down heavily on the Centre for “humiliating and neglecting” Bengal, city-based industry bodies too were unhappy. This Budget has only two new trains for the State, one of which is a Howrah-Paradeep weekly express. The second is a medium distance train. The Budget also does not mention the ongoing or pending Metro Railway projects in Kolkata.
“Bengal is deprived and insulted at the hands of the Centre’s new government. In today’s perspective (the Rail Budget), has any one seen such deprivation and insult?” Banerjee’s Facebook post read. This however, was not the end of her tirade against the Centre. “….Bengal got just one train. Are we beggars?: WB CM,” read the party’s official Twitter handle. She further claimed that the NDA was embarking on “anti-people policies” andthe BJP-led NDA would not have come to power had her proposed federal front taken shape.
The Trinamool Congress has also objected to the Railways opting for FDI. According to its official Twitter page, itwill “hit the streets to protest against the Railway budget”.