In a near-empty Rajya Sabha, the BJP today attacked the government’s decision to procure 20,000 wagons for the Railway freight service without the requisite wheels to run them on the tracks.BJP member Lalitbhai Mehta said he has written to both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav on the issue. Mehta also warned that the Railways was ‘‘running a great risk’’ continuing to run wagons with worn-out wheels. He said a large number of wagons would have to be junked by the end of the next year, increasing the shortfall even further.‘‘On one hand, the Railways state that freight traffic is increasing, on the other it does not have the wheels to run new wagons,’’ he said. He added that despite the huge shortfall, the Railway Minister is insisting that he is against procuring wheels from the private sector. Members cutting across party lines called for the improvement of facilities for commuters.
