Only two MPs from State attend meet with rail minister

People in the State want more railway projects to be implemented. But their elected representatives seem to be least interested, if the attendance at an interaction organised by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is any indication.

Just two out of 41 MPs (28 from the Lok Sabha and 13 from the Rajya Sabha) attended the interaction at Parliament Annex, adjacent to Parliament House, scheduled at 1 pm on Tuesday. Others were in a hurry to rush home after both Houses were adjourned sine die around 12.30 pm.

Prabhu has been holding informal meetings with MPs from different states in batches either over lunch or dinner to discuss Railway-related issues in their respective constituencies.

He also ensures that all top officials from the Railways are present to answer the queries raised by elected representatives.

Only Pralhad Joshi from the BJP and former minister of state for Railways K H Muniyappa from the Congress attended the meeting. While Joshi discussed long-pending issues like operating some trains from Hubballi, Muniyappa requested the minister to expedite the process of setting up a wagon factory in his home constituency of Kolar.

Intimations had been sent to all MPs from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Lakshadweep for the meeting. But, there was thin attendance from the State, said an official from the Ministry.

The minister has been holding such meetings as he is keen to address the issues raised by elected representatives. Though some MPs meet him at his Railway Bhavan office, it is always a very brief interaction as the minister has a hectic schedule.

It seems that the MPs preferred to go to home, rather than discussing their State’s projects, quipped one official. When asked about the reason for MPs skipping the meeting, Joshi said he didn’t know.

Karnataka has poor railway connectivity with 16 km per 1000 sq km, against the national average of 27 km.
DH News Service