The Left parties on Wednesday slammed the government over the hike in train fares and the increase in the cost of LPG cylinders.
The government on December 31, raised train fares marginally by one paise to four paise per kilometre depending on the travel class. It also hiked LPG cylinder rates by ₹19 per cylinder.
“Modi govt. starts the year. After railway passenger fare hikes, another attack on peoples’ livelihoods. All this in the wake of sharp job losses, food price inflation and record fall in rural wages,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury tweeted.
In another tweet, Mr. Yechury called the rail fare hike a “New year gift from the Modi government.”
The CPI in a statement opposed the rail hike and demanded a rollback.
“CPI expresses its strong opposition to proposed hike in Railway fare just before the budget presentation. This is an unhealthy practice to delink budget from price rise. CPI demands that this rise in prices be rolled back and decision should be reviewed,” it said.
