Rahul Gandhi Slams NDA Over Inhuman Festive Train Rush to Bihar
Congress leader accuses the government of neglecting migrants’ hardships during the festive season, saying safe and dignified travel is a right, not a favour
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD supremo and former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday claimed that trains to Bihar are "packed", tickets are impossible to get and the journey to the poll-bound state is becoming "inhuman" during the festive season. The Opposition leaders accused the Centre of not running adequate Bihar-bound trains for Chhath Puja. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw hit back, saying that 178 special trains were run under the Congress-RJD government; today it's over 13,000 trains.
Attacking the Centre over the "inhuman train journey", Mr Gandhi asserted that "helpless travellers" are living proof of the "NDA's deceitful policies and intentions".
“It’s the month of festivals — Diwali, Bhai Dooj, Chhath. In Bihar, these festivals mean more than just faith; they are a longing to return home,” Mr Gandhi posted on X, adding, “But this longing has now become a struggle. Trains to Bihar are packed to the brim, getting tickets is impossible and the journey has become inhumane. The claims of the double-engine government have proven hollow.”
The Congress questioned the government’s claim that 12,000 special trains had been deployed for the festive rush. “Where are they? Why do conditions get worse every year? Why are the people of Bihar forced to return home in such humiliating conditions?” he asked.
Linking the travel crisis to Bihar’s wider migration problem, Mr Gandhi added, “If there were jobs and dignity in the state, people wouldn’t have to wander thousands of kilometres away. A safe and dignified journey is a right, not a favour.”
The RJD chief joined the attack, accusing the BJP-led government of “betraying” Bihar’s people. In a post on X, he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “uncrowned king of lies and master of jumlas”, dismissing the claim that 12,000 of the country’s 13,198 trains were running to Bihar as “a blatant lie”.
“These people can’t even run trains properly for Chhath, the great festival of folk faith,” Mr Yadav wrote. “For the people of Bihar who have suffered from migration during 20 years of the NDA rule, being forced to travel in such inhuman conditions is shameful.”
The railway minister hit back, saying that during Mr Yadav's tenure only 178 special trains were run. Today that number has been exceeded to over 13,000 during Diwali and Chhath.
BJP president J.P. Nadda had, at a recent public rally in Bihar, said the railway ministry has increased the number of special trains to 12,000 this time to meet the passenger rush during the Chhath festival.
