Flagging off Vande Bharat train by PM Modi "a political event": Congress

AICC executive committee member Dr Ajoy Kumar on Saturday, 14 September, described the flagging-off of a Vande Bharat train from Tatanagar station in Jamshedpur on Sunday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "political event", since 80 per cent of the population in Jamshedpur is unable to afford to travel on that train.

Modi will flag off the Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat train at Tatanagar Junction Railway Station around 10 am.

"Inauguration of the Vande Bharat train here is fine but the Modi government has failed to check rail accidents," said Kumar, the AICC in-charge of Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, while addressing media persons in Jamshedpur.

Kumar asked how the inauguration of trains such as Vande Bharat would matter for the 80 per cent of the populace in Jamshedpur, whose monthly income is between Rs 18,000 and Rs 25,000.

An average of 35 crore people in the country travel in ordinary category trains but the union government had already lessened the number of general and sleeper class compartments in these trains and banned passengers from travelling with waiting list tickets.

This has caused immense difficulty to the common man, he said.

The government is not paying importance on improving the amenities in ordinary trains, Kumar said, accusing the Modi government of working for only 2 to 3 per cent of the people.

Congress leaders suggested that the Modi government should make an effort to maintain the punctuality of train services, check rail mishaps, and enhance the income of people to make them capable of travelling on Vande Bharat.

Referring to the rail mishaps, the former JPCC president said the list is long and the Modi government has miserably failed to put a rein on it.

Hitting out at BJP, Kumar said the party is pretending to be the sympathiser of Adivasis but the truth is that they always betrayed them even after ruling the state for a longer period in the state.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren's government had forwarded a bill related to the "Sarna religion", a symbol of religious and cultural independence of tribal community after it was passed in the state cabinet two years ago but the union government is yet to approve it, Kumar alleged. Such an approach of the government indicates that the BJP is anti-adivasi, he alleged.

Speaking about the BJP's claim of Bangladeshi infiltrators, the Congress leader rejected Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's propaganda of grabbing Adivasi land by infiltrators.

In an affidavit filed by the Union Home Ministry in Jharkhand High Court over the issue on 12 September, it has admitted that they did not have any data regarding land grabbing after marrying tribal girls by infiltrators, Kumar said, adding that it indicated that Union Home Ministry did not have any record in this regard.

Demanding the resignation of Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Congress leader asked on what basis the BJP was making such accusations.