Terming the rail budget as 'disappointing, directionless and populist', BJP on Friday demanded that Union railway minister Lalu Prasad come out with a 'performance budget' for each of the five years of his tenure.

"This budget is most directionless budget presented by the Union railway minister Lalu Prasad...it's nothing but jugglery of words," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaj Hussain said.

"Railway minister should also present an outcome and performance budget after each railway budget so that people could know which of promises made during his rail budgets were actually implemented," party general secretary Ananth Kumar said.

Kumar said the minister should not 'mislead' parliament and the country with 'empty sloganeering'.

"The entire rail budget exercise has become a mockery. The railway minister has presented this please all budget to garner votes," Kumar said, adding 'this is neither full budget nor half budget but simply a vote budget.'

Shahnawaj Hussain claimed that even five per cent of the announcements made by the rail minister cannot be implemented.

Describing the two per cent reduction in railway fare announced by minister as merely 'a drop in the ocean', he said, "After the market recession there has been drastic cut in fuel prices. Even the air fares of gone down and hence a greater reduction in rail fare was expected, which did not happen."

The BJP leader, however, thanked the minister for fulfilling most of his rail related demands for his constituency Bhagalpur, Bihar.

Also see: Passenger fares down 2%; freight unchanged