New Delhi, July 2: Congress lawmaker Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Centre over privatisation of the Indian Railways. Sharing a news report which said the Ministry of Railways has invited private companies to run 151 passengers trains as part of its first move towards privatisation, Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the government is taking away "lifeline" of the poor. Rahul Gandhi Attacks BJP Govt, Says It Promotes Make in India, but Buys From China.

"Rail is the only lifeline of the poor and the government is taking it away from them. Whatever you want to snatch, snatch. But remember - people of the country will give a befitting reply," Rahul tweeted in Hindi. The government has invited Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for private players for the operation of passenger train services on 109 Origin-Destination (OD) pairs of routes through introduction of 151 modern trains. Rahul Gandhi Attacks PM Narendra Modi, Asks 'Why China is Praising Prime Minister'.

Rahul Gandhi Slams Centre Over Privatisation of Trains:

The operation of 151 modern passenger trains is a part of a project that "would entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore," the Ministry of Railways said in a statement. "This is the first initiative of private investment for running passenger trains over Indian Railways network," it added. The ministry had in December last year identified about 100 routes to run 150 private passenger trains.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2020 02:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).