Former railway minister and Mamata Banerjee described the Interim Railway Budget for 2009-10 as 'election-oriented' and an eyewash to secure votes.
"It is a visionless budget and the mission is to get votes," the Trinamool Congress chief said.
She dubbed the reduction by Re 1 in fares of those upto Rs 50 in ordinary passenger trains as a 'farce' and said it should have been slashed by 10 per cent.
With freight rates remaining unchanged, she said, it would not be of any help to industry.
Referring to the Rs 90,000 crore (Rs 900 billion) cash surplus in the last five years, she said that the Railways were charging five per cent cess on the passenger fares, while funds earmarked for safety and security were being shown as surplus.
She said there should not be any temporary approach and the new government after the Lok Sabha polls, should work with a long term vision.
