The left parties on Thursday criticised the railway budget as directionless and a move towards privatisation of the Indian Railways.
Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury said there was nothing new in the budget and it was not people - friendly.
"People were expecting a lot from this budget but it is far from reality. It's totally a directionless budget, " he said.
CPI leader D. Raja said: "There is nothing on expected lines in the budget and gives nothing in terms of passenger safety and civic amenities. "
"It's a directionless budget which has nothing for the common people. We are disappointed, " CPI - M leader Mohammad Salim told reporters here.
He accused the government of pushing the Indian Railways into private hands.
"This government is following a policy of liberalisation and privatisation of the railways. They have only tried to use the railways for funding private players and the focus is on marketing and advertisement only, " he said.
"There is only 'mann ki baat' in this budget and not 'jan ki baat', " the CPI - M leader added.