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Praise from PM, barbs
from Oppn for Didi New Delhi, February 25 While presenting the budget, Mamata had admitted to facing financial difficulties even as she made an array of ambitious announcements and blamed it all on the high salary bill after the Sixth Pay Commission. Commending the budget, the Prime Minister felt that “it will help weaken cost push element of inflation.” He hoped that the various infrastructure investments announced by Banerjee would supplement growth momentum of the economy, adding that “the Railway Minister has done a commendable job.” Similarly, Mukherjee complimented Banerjee, saying: “She had to work in a very difficult situation and on the whole it is a good budget.” He noted that the Railways has recommended a dividend of 6 per cent to the general exchequer. “I think the Railways has been giving 6 per cent (dividend),” he said.In the process he also conceded a sum of Rs 20,000 crore would go from the national exchequer to provide a Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for these projects. The Opposition, meanwhile, has described Mamata Banerjee's budget as “jugglery” of accounts, saying the finances and performance of the department were in a “mess” and the exercise would push the Railways into bankruptcy. The two main opposition parties -- the BJP and the CPM -- were one in describing Mamata Banerjee’s budget as a “fraudulent exercise, symptomatic of the dismal state of this government”.
BJP Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde observed that never before in recent years has the Railways fallen into such a deep financial crisis “But no attempt is visible in this budget to retrieve the debt worth Rs 25,000 crore.” Munde said, “This is no budget. It is a whole lot of announcements. Last time too she announced plans of opening schools, hospitals, colleges, sports complexes. This year again she has made a whole lot of new announcements. We will take a memorandum to the Prime Minister, listing all these announcements and ask him what happened to all those promises.” The BJP leader said the budget was for Bengal and “baaki sab kangaal (others left bankrupt)”. CPM leader Sitaram Yechury termed the budget an “exercise in deceit” and accused her of playing tricks with figures and “cunningly juggling statistics” figures to show improved financial position of the PSU behemoth. Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal complained that Banerjee should have known that she was representing the whole country and not just West Bengal or Rae Bareli.
Bengal gets major share of pie New Delhi, February 25 Looking to come to power in the state, where elections are due, Mamata did what her predecessors have been doing over the years - give the best of everything to the home state. From an Industrial park to be set up in Nandigram, to a Metro coach factory at Singur, there is everything in this rail budget to assure the voter of West Bengal that their welfare is foremost for “Didi”. While reaching out to the common man, Mamata also announced a centre for excellence in software to be set up at Darjeeling, 50 new services for suburbs in Kolkata, expansion of Kolkata Metro network, two non-stop trains between Bardhman and Howrah, new line to connect Bhautola-Jhargram via Lalgarh in West Bengal and as many as 30 new trains for the state, which include not only the express trains but also the DEMU and MEMU service. The budget presented by Mamata has also been viewed as the possible barometer of Monday's Union Budget when the government is expected to present a populist spending programme to help it contain voter anger over inflation and corruption ahead of key state elections. Mamata also pushed private sector involvement in the network with initiatives such as setting up wagon factories with private partners. She also unveiled plans for a 700 MW captive gas-based power plant. “We have attempted to combine a strong economic focus ... with a human face,” she added. She has, however, come in for criticism for not tinkering with low passenger fares, which have remained unchanged now for eight years.
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The Railway Minister has done a commendable job. It will help weaken cost push element of
inflationy. 
No attempt is visible in this budget to retrieve the
debt worth Rs 25,000 crore. This is no budget. It is a whole lot of announcements. The budget is for Bengal and ‘baaki sab kangaal (others left bankrupt) 
Punjab does not exist on the map of India, as she
(Mamata) has not allocated a single penny or a railway track for the granary of the country that is feeding the whole nation
The budget is an exercise in deceit. It is cunningly juggling figures to show improved financial position of the PSU behemoth.
This is an unrealistic budget. Where are the financial resources shown to put up the infrastructure to run so many trains. 
It is a routine budget, nothing sparkling, about this budget.