Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Lalu Prasad's Gift to Chhapra


Railway Minister Lalu Prasad presented his achievements in the Railway Budget on 26th February.

The Indian Railways in its ''historic'' profit-making binge has been ''kicking one 'Goal' after another (creating records) and every child in the country is today cheering 'Chak De railway, Prasad said in his budget speech.

''We have not only shown dreams but turned them into reality...... 'Mungeri Lal ke Haseen Sapne' (Mungeri Lal's sweet dreams) have been turned into reality and are being implemented,'' he said, amid laughter and applause from all sides.

As Prasad's speech progressed and was later disrupted by angry protests from members from several parties including Congress and supporting Left members, his daughters and a son-in-law witnessed his performance in rapt attention from the Speaker's Gallery.

Discussion with Sonia Gandhi

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition L K Advani were present in the House. Before delivering his two-hour long speech, Prasad was seen in discussion with Gandhi.

Prior to the disruptions, Prasad announced a train between Chhapra, his constituency, and Mathura, saying he could now go directly to the abode of Lord Krishna.

When some MPs complained that the translation system was not working, Prasad told them ''I will translate this for you'' and explained a Hindi couplet in English. ''We have sowed a tree and now it is my duty to ensure that fruits can grow,'' he said.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, whose seat is adjacent to that of the Railway Minister on the front row, was seen sitting behind, apparently to make space for Prasad to deliver his budget address.

There will be a weekly train from Patna in Bihar to Vasco da Gama in Goa. The train will run on the Konkan railway tracks.

Gaya in Bihar, where Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment, will be linked with a weekly express train to Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

In the last budget, Prasad had announced setting up of a coach factory in his Lok Sabha constituency, Chhapra, introduction of Garib Rath (a no-frills air-conditioned train), besides increasing the frequency of 50-odd trains crossing Bihar in the last four years.

Earlier, Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister urged Lalu to accord top priority to implement all the pending projects in Bihar. He said the railway projects which were pending for the last four years, if implemented would benefit the people of the state.
"Usually, Lalu resorts to tricks and raise fares indirectly by altering the rules," Kumar charged and sarcastically remarked "Lalu gives from one hand, takes the benefits back from another."


Kumar, who himself had been the Railway minister during the NDA regime, said that it was only after some time people come to realise that they had been taken for a ride in the name of reduction of fare or freight cost.

On Lalu's promises to present attractive railway budget from the point of view of common man's interests, Kumar alleged that Lalu was making promises only to get approving thumping of desks on the floor of parliament.

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Gift to Chennai