Title - Kerala CPI(M) slams decision to hike rail fares

Thiruvananthapuram: Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala on Wednesday came out strongly against the Centre's decision to hike railway fares and said the state would be the worst-affected on account of the measure.

"There is no justification for casting such a huge burden on the people when presentation of the railway budget is just a few weeks away", CPI(M) state Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan told a press meet here.

He said the fare-hike was part of the UPA government's strategy of imposing harsh measures on the people through executive decisions.

Being a consumer state and with a large number of its people working outside, Kerala would be the worst hit on account of the hike, he added.