NEW DELHI: The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Thursday sought to know from the Government as to how the Indian Railways earned a whopping profit of Rs. 20,000 crore despite fall in passenger traffic by nearly seven per cent.

Participating in the debate on the Railway Budget in Lok Sabha, the CPI(M) also opposed attempts to privatise the Railways.

Initiating the discussion, Thawar Singh Gehlot (BJP) said the profit has been generated from `Tatkal' and super fast charges and not from increase in passenger traffic. "The Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad, should explain whether the profit has been earned from passenger fares or freight," he said.

Mr. Gehlot alleged that Mr. Prasad had discriminated against certain States by not announcing new rail lines. He said States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have been badly neglected in the budget. Stating that passengers no longer feel secure in trains, he said about 10,000 posts of Railway Protection Force (RPF) are still lying vacant without any visible action to fill them up.

Taking part in the debate, Anil Basu of the CPI(M) wondered how Mr. Prasad could claim that the Railways had earned a 14 per cent profit when statistics reveal that the passenger traffic has increased by only seven per cent. He stoutly opposed the Private Public Partnership concept and said outsourcing and privatisation of services would create unrest among the employees.

Mr. Basu said the outsourcing of services would render catering and container units unviable. Referring to the closure of the railway printing press at Byculla, Mr. Basu said the new commodity-based traffic concept would hit medium scale steel utilities hard, as they would find the freight costlier.

L. Rajagopal of the Congress complimented Mr. Prasad for presenting an outstanding budget that had given dignity to every passenger cutting across the length and breadth of the country. He said the budget had something for everyone including women and senior citizens in addition to discounts for those travelling in various categories during the peak and non-peak season.

Ram Kripal Yadav (RJD) said in the past no Railway Minister had presented a surplus budget. Quoting figures, he said there were 1,051 accidents in the last three years of NDA rule compared to 650 during the UPA's three years. Similarly, the NDA regime earned Rs. 10,646 crore during these three years while the UPA generated revenue of Rs. 30,286 crore in the same number of years, he added.

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