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print versionCommunist Party of India
Central Office
Ajoy Bhavan
15, Com. Indrajit Gupta Marg
New Delhi- 110002
Tel: 011 23235546
July 2, 2020
Press Release
CPI Condemns BJP Government’s Decision to Handover the Indian Railways to Private Sectors
Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary D RAJA issued the following statement today (on July 2, 2020) decrying the Modi governments move to privatize Railways in toto:
The BJP led Modi government is determined to hand over all the national assets and resources to the private corporates. No sector of the economy and industry is spared. Coal mine, banks, defence, oil, insurance, electricity, telecom, space and atomic energy all are being privatized by the Modi regime. The latest target of privatisation is the Indian Railways. The BJP government has already decided to corporatise the production units under the Railways and to close down the printing presses of the Railways. The government has further appointed an Empowered Group of Secretaries for handing over passenger trains and railway stations to private sector. Accordingly on July 1, 2020 the ministry of railways have announced the following decisions.
• Operation of 109 trains through private participation.
• Private sector investment of Rs. 30,000 crores is expected in this project.
• 109 origin destination fares have been formed with 12 clusters across the Indian Railways network.
• The concession period for the project will be 35 yrs.
• Only the driver and the guard will be railway employees and all other employees will be from private operators.
Any private entity investing Rs. 30,000 crores will expect a huge profit from its investment resulting in huge increase in the railway ticket fare. Train which is the common man’s transport will go beyond his reach. Railways is not a commercial organisation. Railways are for serving the people of the country. The BJP government does not have any concern about the common people of this country. Already three lakh posts in Railways are lying vacant. These decision of operating 109 Trains through private agency will take away the dream of the Indian youth including of those who belong to the socially and economically downtrodden sections to get a Railway Job.
CPI condemns the anti-people decision of the BJP government and urges upon the government to withdraw its decision. CPI calls upon the railway employees, their trade unions and the people of the country to reject and fight against this retrograde decision taken by the Modi Government.
S/d
(Roykutty)
Office Secretary
