The Union Government should roll back the rail fare and freight hike in the interest of the poor and the middle class citizens and to control food inflation, urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa.

At a time when people are expecting measures to control inflation, the Government of India has hikes rail fares by 14.2 per cent and rail freight by 6.5 per cent. This is contrary to expectations and is a cause for concern, the Chief Minister said in a statement.

The previous Government at the Centre had introduced the practice of hiking rail fares and freight in tandem with fuel price increases. But the previous Government in its interim budget had called off the hike after announcing that fares will go up by 14.2 per cent and freight by 6.5 per cent from May 16.

However, the present government has implemented this hike raising concern among the people that it appears to be toeing the line of the previous government led by the Congress, she said.

The Chief Minister urged the Centre to explore alternative options including improving operations of the railways to increase revenue rather than by hiking rates which could lead to prices of essential commodities going up, she said.

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