LUCKNOW, July 1:  Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday termed the decision of the Railway Ministry to increase the fares as one “against the general public interest and more of a business-minded decision rather than the welfare objective of the Constitution”.

  The Railway Ministry issued an official circular on Monday, increasing the fares of the non-air-conditioned class in mail and express trains by 1 paisa and all air-conditioned classes by 2 paise per kilometre from July 1.

Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Mayawati said, “As it is known that when most of the people of the country are suffering and unhappy due to the daily hunger and thirst of extreme inflation, poverty, unemployment and decrease in income, then in such a situation, the increase in the train fare in the country by the Centre seems to be a decision taken against the general public interest.”

She said it was more of a business-minded decision rather than fulfilling any welfare objective of the Constitution.

The fares of suburban trains and monthly season tickets have been left unchanged in the interest of daily commuters. The ordinary second-class fare has not been increased for up to 500 km and for distances beyond that, there is an increase in the ticket prices by half a paisa per km.

Mayawati alleged that the practice of increasing the exploitation of the common man by increasing the burden on their daily life through railways just like GST in the name of ‘Nation First is extremely unfair.

It would be better if the government reconsiders it immediately, she added.

“For crores of people here, the train journey is not a fashion, pleasure or tourism, rather it is a very painful journey and compulsion due to the increasing poverty, inflation, acute shortage of respectable permanent employment in the country, compulsion to leave their homes and migrate to feed the family,” Mayawati said.

The government should not adopt a commercial approach towards them but and treat them with sympathy and welfare, she said, adding that this has been everyone’s expectation.

“Therefore, instead of worrying only for its own benefit and for a handful of rich and prosperous people, the government should take proper care of the crores of people of the country who are yearning to live a life of self-respect…,” she said.

The former chief minister said about 95 crore people of the country’s population have been forced to become beneficiaries of at least one social welfare scheme of the government. Due to this, the number of such helpless people has increased to about 64.3 per cent in the current year 2025, whereas in the year 2016 this number was only about 22 per cent.

Hitting out at the BJP government in Delhi, the BSP chief alleged that it is adopting an anti-people attitude of ruthlessly displacing the poor and those who migrate from other states, especially from UP, Bihar and Bengal for livelihood, without making any other arrangements.

“Their slums are being demolished so ruthlessly that it is very sad and shameful,” she said stressing that the Delhi government says it is following the court’s order.

“But, the honourable court did not say that you should displace them without making any other arrangements… The court has definitely said you should remove them but the court did not say that you should not make any other arrangements for them.

“It is the responsibility of the government to first make alternate arrangements to settle them before removing their slums,” she said. (PTI)