ISOLATED in his own party, Railway Minster Dinesh Trivedi has found a strong backing from the 14 lakh railway employees, whose unions now threaten "industrial action" if the train fare hikes proposed in the Rail Budget are rolled back.

In their second appeal in three days to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday, the five federations of railway unions have said that Trivedi is being made a "scapegoat" and that they would not allow "politicisation of the Indian Railways".

Click here to read the letter

"We are expressing our deep sense of anguish for making the Railway Minister a scapegoat for...justified decision in the interest of railways and the nation. Should our request fail to receive your sympathetic consideration, we would have no option except to resort to agitation to save the Indian Railways, which is the lifeline of our nation and the backbone of the economy," M Raghavaiah, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR), which is affiliated to Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC), wrote in the letter.

The letter has been signed by heads of the other four federations, including the All Indian Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF), the biggest of them all with a membership strength of 1.2 million railway employees. The other groups are Federation of Railway Officers' Association (FROA), All-India RPF Association (AIRPFA) and Indian Railway Promotee Officers' Association (IRPOF).

"The whole country cannot be held ransom to the brinkmanship and whims of one political leader or party. We will resort to industrial action," Raghavaiah told The Indian Express. "We feel disappointed that the Railway Minister was let down by his party when all he wanted to do was save the railways from a collapse."

The AIRF has decided to include the 800-900-odd passenger associations across the country in their nationwide demonstrations in case the government rolls back the fare hikes. The passenger associations have a strength of lakhs of daily commuters who use local trains.

"These associations are formed by daily passengers who take the local trains everyday to work. These people are supportive of the Rail Budget and they represent the common man. We have to save Indian Railways from these political attacks," said Shib Gopal Mishra, AIRF general secretary.

With resources dwindling, the national transporter is close to a breakdown akin to Air India. The federations have been writing to the Railway Minister since last year demanding a fare hike.

"All safety parameters require major upgrade. Thanks to lack of safety, a huge number of railwaymen lose their lives while at work on the ground. Without the finances, safety in the railways will also be compromised," said Mishra.

ALSO READ State-of-the-art swanky T2 opens at Mumbai airport

Please read our terms of use before posting comments