'Classic case of divide and rule': Cong's K Suresh slams allocation for Railways

New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) Congress MP K Suresh on Tuesday dubbed the provisions for the Railway Ministry in the Union Budget as a "classic case of divide and rule" where states which rejected the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections were "shunned".

Initiating the debate on Demands for Grants for the ministry in the Lok Sabha, Suresh said the previous Congress governments redefined national connectivity where all states benefitted from the growing network of the Railways.

He claimed the provisions in the Union Budget for Railways were a "classic case of divide and rule" as propagated by the British.

Suresh said states where the BJP suffered reverses were "completely shunned" and the document had "no inclusive spirit".

"All allocation in the railway budget is made to keep alliance partners happy...the central government has completely avoided Kerala," he alleged.

BJP member Sudhir Gupta hit back, saying the development of the Railways which remained "hindered" for decades picked up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.

Participating the the debate, Gupta said the development of Railways was hindered during the successive rule of those now in the Opposition.

He said that the railway network created by the Britishers were claimed to be created by them to mislead people.

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar of TMC referred to the recent train accidents and said the Railways is now focussed more on "saving the chair" than saving lives.

Hitting out at the government, she said the spate of accidents were a result of negligence of the government.

The discussion would continue on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated Rs 2,62,200 crore for the Railways in the Union Budget 2024-25. PTI BKS NAB NAB KVK KVK