Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the railway fare concession for senior citizens, saying no society and country can progress without the blessings of its elderly. In a letter to the prime minister, he claimed that extending the concession to elderly citizens would cost the Centre only Rs 1600 crore, or “a drop in the ocean,” given that it has a budget of Rs 45 lakh crore.
It was “unfortunate” to terminate the rail ticket concession scheme for the elderly and monetary constraints cannot be the reason for it, he said and cited his government spending Rs 50 crore in the annual budget on a scheme for free pilgrimage. “Please do not stop the concession given to the elderly in the railways. Crores of elderly people are benefiting from this concession,” Kejriwal, who sent the letter on Saturday, tweeted. By stopping the facility, a message was being given to senior citizens that the government did not care for them which was against the culture of the country, he said, adding that no person, society or country can progress without the blessings of the elderly.
Delhi was seeing progress in all areas due to the blessings of the elderly for whom free pilgrimage of religious places has been arranged by his government, he said. “Please restore the concession to the elderly in the railways, crores of elderly people were benefiting from this scheme: Our progress is possible only with the blessings of our elders, but we often become arrogant that whatever we have achieved in life is the result of our hard work alone,” he wrote to the prime minister, appealing him for restoration of 50 per cent rebate to elderly in railway fare.
