March 12, 2025
Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen’s speech during the Discussion on the Working of the Ministry of Railways
Thank you, Madam, for giving me a chance to speak. I also thank and express my deep regards to my Party, All India Trinamool Congress, and our leader, hon. Mamata Banerjee, to give me an opportunity to speak on Indian Railways. I will try to speak in my mother tongue, Bangla. In fact, we, the people of India, will always remember the long tradition of Indian Railways, the lifeline of our country and of our 140 crore population. “We proudly recall the significant contributions made by former Railway Ministers Shri Abu Barkat Ataur Ghani Khan Choudhury, Shri Lalu Prasad, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and others. We also fondly recall the extraordinary period when Ms. Mamata Banerjee used to be the Railways’ Minister. The reason behind the recent decline in the rich tradition of the railways, which serves as the lifeline of the country, is the attempt to privatize it. And mainly because of this, during this era of Modi Ji, since 2017 presentation of the Railway Budget has been dispensed with. There is no separate Railway Budget, no separate budgetary allocation, no grants. Who was that Railway Minister who focused on revenue generation in order to make the railways selfreliant that too by declaring a freight policy and by not increasing the prices of tickets in a poor country like ours? It was the hon. Ms. Mamata Banerjee. When Modi Ji and his acolytes are busy floating the stories relating to construction of bullet train line by spending Rs. 200 crore per kilometer, then who was that Railway Minister who had established a dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India, through which daily essentials like rice, pulses, vegetables, edible oils, milk, etc. could reach the ‘we the people of India’ of this poor country by only spending a mere Rs. 25 crore per kilometer! What is more important in a third world country like ours? Who has done this work? The rare, exceptional Ms. Mamata Banerjee! Let the Bullet Train project happen, we have no objection at all. Everyone wants to live with their head held high. Who was that Railway Minister who had introduced the ‘Ijjat’ monthly pass worth Rs. 25 so that ‘we the people of India’ of this poor country could travel with dignity, with their head held high? It was the leader of the masses Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Who was that Railway Minister, who for the first time in history introduced the non-stop Duronto Express? Where people from all strata of the society could avail the AC and Non-AC classes of the fastest Duronto Express to travel to their destination? It was our favorite, always on top of speed, Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Who was that Railway Minister who acquired the sick wagon factory Burn Standard and Braithwaite, revitalized the wagon making Public Sector Undertaking Jessop? It was the constructive administrator Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Whereas, in the opposite, Modi Ji wants to destroy by his attempt at privatizing all the profit-making industries like the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, workshops at Liluah and Kancharapara. Who was that Railway Minister who had introduced a scheme allowing for Group D employees of the railways to travel once a year with their families and introduced free passes for his purpose? It was the leader of the ‘Maa-Mati-Manush’, Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Who was that Railway Minister, who in 2009 itself readied a Vision Document, 2020 for the lifeline of the country and has also signed an agreement with the IIT, Kharagpur? Who made the people dream that one day metro railway could ply beneath the river Ganges? Who could have allocated budgetary grants for such an advanced modern idea? The foreteller, farsighted Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Who was that Railway Minister, who had given the Kolkata a complete Government status by declaring it as the 17th Zone of the Indian Railways? Modi Ji and his ilk who are the architect of introducing privatized metro systems in all the metropolitans but Kolkata, can’t even think of it even in their dreams! It was the nationalist leader Ms. Mamata Banerjee. I am sorry for this information. I will try to share with you some figures. It is simple arithmetic, Madam. I will try to share with you some figures. It is simple arithmetic. Under the UPA, Kerala received 1.43 per cent of the funds given by the Parliament for the Railways which have dropped to 1.17 per cent under the NDA. Under the UPA, Tamil Nadu received 3.38 per cent of the funds given by the Parliament for the Railways which have now dropped to 2.59 per cent under the NDA. West Bengal received 16.85 per cent of the funds given by the Parliament for the Railways under the UPA which have now dropped to 5.46 per cent only under the NDA. I want to challenge the hon. Railway Minister that if you want to prove the figures quoted by me as wrong, kindly authenticate the same. How would mere speeches, false promises, eye wash and jumlas work? Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, work is yet to begin in any of the 135 stations. Even the tendering process has not begun. Despite having a target of upgrading 453 stations by 2024-25, work has begun at only one station. The loco pilots are being compelled to work 36 hours at a stretch without any sleep. This poses not only a threat to their own lives but also puts the lives of crores of passengers in risk. I would have to discount the minimum rights of the female loco pilots as they do not even get to use the washrooms while being in the pilot cabin. The Ministry of Railways had last year declared that there were 58,000 Group-C vacancies. 3 out of 4 parts of those vacancies fall under the safety and security categories. There has been a budget cut of 22% in customer amenities, passenger amenities. The allocation has been reduced to Rs. 12,000 crores from Rs. 15,500 crores. How would people get clean bedroll, toilet, railway coaches, rail stations, etc.? The Railways have failed to generate even internal revenue. Net earnings of the Railways have remained marginal in 2022-23 and 2023-24. For the current financial year, the Budget Estimates were revised downward by 52 per cent. What is unfortunate is that the Vishwagurus-Mahagurus change their attires 4-5 times in a day and their rail ministers fail to keep their promises. Is it good? The crux of the matter is, that revenue of the railways would have to be increased. In order to make the railways self-reliant through the increase in revenues, privatization is not the solution nor is increasing the prices of platform and other tickets. Instead, impetus should be given on freight policy. Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) is one of the largest infrastructure projects from Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni in West Bengal, which stretches to about 1839 kilometres, announced by the former Railway Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Starting from Punjab, the works for the first two segments have been completed 12 years ago. However, works for the third segment is yet to be completed. This segment connects Son Nagar in Bihar with Dankuni, West Bengal. Had this been completed, it would have benefited the people of this country, the railways itself, would also have increased its revenues. But the same is not being done. Towards privatization, hawkers are being displaced. As a result, lakhs of self-employed unorganized workers are being rendered unemployed. Moreover, in corporate style, large shops selling expensive goods are being set up at railway stations. But will this lead to an increase in revenue? 80-90% of the daily travelers are from poor, middle-class backgrounds. Can they afford such expensive items on a daily basis? Contractual workers who have worked for the railways for 25-30 years are being made to sit out on account of the Gem portal. They are being deprived of their Central Minimum Wage, PF, ESI, gratuity, bonus illegally. In order to increase railways’ revenue, you must shun arrogance and avail the policies of Ms. Mamata Banerjee. It would be beneficial for you only. The unutilized lands and air space should be commercially utilized to overcome liabilities with assets. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation should introduce special routes and packages encompassing certain selected tourist spots and religious places across the country. This would lead to an increase in the revenue and the railways, in turn, would strive towards self-reliance. Optical fiber cable network can be laid along with the railway tracks and be utilized commercially. This would increase the revenue and would also help spreading IT across the nook and corner of the country. Efforts need to be undertaken to connect ports with railways. States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Bengal which are having marine ports should be connected with rail links. This will help increase freight traffic and will also usher in a new era for industries and businesses. Railways’ revenue will also increase. I repeat Sir, again I am saying, please shun your arrogance. Hon’ble Railways Minister, please shun your arrogance. Admit your mistakes. You are declaring deadlines in an arrogant manner but are not being able to meet those. You should focus on your work first instead of jumlas and then do the talking. I would like quote a line from a poem of the late People’s Poet Shri Pratul Mukhapadhyay: “When would that lad appear in our country who would emerge as more of a worker but the one who make tall talks”. You should follow your predecessor railways ministers. You should learn from them. Increase the revenue of the railways. Make the railways self-reliant. Establish the railways as the life line of the country. This is my 3 rd term. For the last 12-13 years, I have been a witness to so many debates, discussions. But for the first time, I am witnessing such attitude from the treasury bench. This is not right. I condemn this. You want to win in Bengal. Come, win politically fighting and competing with the development of Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Fair deal! But rigging the voters’ list, increasing the number of voters like in Delhi and Maharashtra, stopping the release of legitimate due of about Rs. 2 lakh crores won’t do any good. You would deprive people of their salaries/wages and defame Bengal on the floor of the House by misrepresenting facts. This is not right. From Nirmala Sitaramanji to Annapurna Madam, from Dharmendra Pradhanji to Ashwini Vaishnavji, all have given misleading, incorrect information regarding Bengal. They are not even authenticating it. We have all the documents. We have all the papers containing the correct information. Most importantly, how is Bengal getting 1st prize in all the departments from the Union Government? You must not forget that this arrogance had led to your downfall from 303 seats to 240 seats. If this continues, you will come below 200 seats. You must return to truth. Else ‘we the people of India’ will teach you a lesson. Remember, it is the people who have the last word.
