Mallikarjun Kharge (L) and Narendra Modi
Credit: PTI File Photos
New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday targeted the Narendra Modi government for the second hike in rail fare in a year, accusing it of "leaving no opportunity to loot" the public, while insisting that Railways has faced a "sad saga of neglect, apathy and fake hype" under the ruling BJP.
Kharge, who was Railways Minister between June 2013 and May 2014, claimed that accountability had "vanished" with no separate railway budget.
"The Modi government is leaving no opportunity to loot the common public. Second railway fare hike in a single year, days before the Union Budget...Railway ails, as Modi Govt is busy in fake publicity rather than concrete delivery," he said.
His comments came as the Ministry of Railways announced a hike in train fares by one paise per km for ordinary class beyond a journey of 215 km, and 2 paise per km for non-AC classes of mail/express trains and AC classes of all trains.
Claiming that Railways has faced a "sad saga of neglect, apathy and fake hype" under Modi government, he said, "safety derails, deaths mount: 2.18 lakh deaths in railway accidents (NCRB Report: between 2014–23). Railways are no longer safe, they're a gamble with life."
"KAVACH languishes: Five years of hype, zero seriousness. Kavach covers less than 3 percent routes and less than 1 percent locomotives — a safety system that exists only in lofty speeches," he said in a post on X.
Referring to 3.16 lakh vacancies in the Railways, he said it rotted the system, as youth awaits permanent posting while contractual posting was on the rise as he cited from the latest available annual report on pay and allowance.
He said training and human resource funds are neglected, while highlighting that only 42% were utilised in 2023-24 and 68% till December 2024-25. Citing a Parliamentary Standing Committee Report, he said loco pilots denied basic breaks.
Alleging "publicity over performance", he said only one station has been upgraded against a target of 453, which is a "cruel joke on development". He also claimed that "stunts galore (and) substance missing".
"While reels are shot and ATMs in rail promoted, Railways bleed — Rs 2,604 crore losses (CAG, 2024), senior citizen concessions scrapped, extracting Rs 8,913 crore from the elderly. Red flags for speed: Vande Bharat runs at 76 km per hour against a tall claim of 160 km per hour," he said.