While the Opposition Congress slammed the railway budget and said it was more like a corporate presentation, the ruling BJP said it provides a road-map for the growth of the Railways.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said there were no steps to help the Railways on the ground.

“We saw that at the end of the budget presentation a number of MPs stood up protesting. Because, normally, in the Railway budgets the government used to give specific proposals for their constituencies and there was no such thing in this budget. In this budget, it’s more of a corporate presentation on plans and proposals mainly on paper. Not enough concrete proposals for actual change in the railway services on the ground. That is why most of the MPs were protesting,” Tharoor said.

Senior BJP leader and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad contested this by saying that the Centre is giving a new direction to the Railways. “The Congress is used to a particular style of development — which was rejected by the people. They are limited to 44 members because of this style of development. This budget is innovative and will help the Railways give better facilities to common people and better its facilities,” he said.

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