Railway fare hike: Won't support any decision that will hit the poor, says Karunanidhi

Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Thursday said that it would take up the latest railway fare increase issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Party chief Karunanidhi said that he would not support any hike that would hit the poor.

"DMK will not support any hike that will hit the poor," party chief M Karunanidhi said when reporters asked him about the railway fare hike announced by PK Bansal on Wednesday. Replying to another question, he said his party would take up the matter with the Prime Minister through its MPs.

In the pre-budget measure, the government has announced an across-the-board increase in rail passenger fares with effect from January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year, the first such increase in a decade. The hike coming a month before the presentation of Railway Budget has been slammed by opposition parties which have demanded a rollback.

The DMK chief said that his party will take up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

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