It's unfortunately become a norm except for non-Karnataka union rail/railway ministers (Late Madhav Rao Scindia, Ms. Mamta Banerjee, Nitish Kumar, Laloo Prasad Yadav,..) and ministers of state to manipulate the rail budgets favouring their home states/cities by intentionally ignoring the other more financially viable deserving states and cities.

Successive Railway ministers with a feudalistic mindset seem to consider the railways as their jagir (exclusive private property) that can be run as per their pleasure or whims and fancies.

A world-class railway station for Patna which is the capital of one of India's greatest anarchic and rogue states Bihar,is the greatest joke of 2008 that's being played on the law-abiding Indian citizens. Only God can save it from the lawlessness that's prevalent there.

Why didn't Kolkata and Bangalore get the funds for the world class railway stations although they were more deserving than Patna?

To understand the consequences of providing free season tickets to the students without any economic criterion Laluji should himself travel in/by the Indian railways in disguise to see for himself how the students (both boys and girls) misbehave, harass and create nuisance for unreserved ticket holders.

Except for the present BJP MP from Mysore none of the MPs from any party have done anything for Karnataka even during the NDA government at the centre. The doubling of the financially viable Mysore-Bangalore rail line and its electrification won't be completed till 2011 at the present rate. Not even a Jan Shatabdi has been introduced between Mysore and Bangalore.

-Syed Tanveeruddin
Mysore