By IANS
Patna : Railway Minister Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has booked nearly three dozen special trains to ferry supporters to Patna for his rally here Oct 28.
With three days left for Lalu’s rally, leaders of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition fear a show of strength from the RJD chief, who is known for organising massive rallies to deliver political messages to his supporters and rivals alike.
Official sources in Danapur’s East Central Railway (ECR) said RJD had booked 35 special trains Oct 27-28 from various parts of Bihar and Jharkhand to ferry its supporters to the Chetawani (warning) Rally.
RJD spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad Khan said his party was paying Indian Railways for booking the rally special trains. “The railway will earn a hefty amount for running these special trains. It is not free of cost,” Khan pointed out.
However, JD-U national spokesman Shivanand Tiwari questioned the booking of special trains by RJD. “Why is Lalu Prasad organising chetawani rallies when we are making all efforts to achieve all-round growth of the state?” he asked.
Tiwari alleged Lalu Prasad was “blatantly misusing” railway resources for ensuring the success of his party’s rally.
In defence, Khan said booking of special trains by RJD to ferry its supporters for the rally will not only bring revenues for railways but also set a trend of booking trains in advance for similar purposes.
“By booking special trains, RJD has set an example that it will not allow its supporters to misuse trains for rallies despite the party being headed by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad,” Khan said.
The railways charges about Rs.800,000 for running a special train with 18 bogies.
“The railways will earn nearly Rs.30 million for running 35 special trains for the Chetawani Rally,” railway officials said.
But some railway officials said running of 35 rally specials besides nearly 100 regular trains in the zone would be a tough task.
“Some long distance trains, including the Rajdhani Express which runs through Bihar and Jharkhand, would be delayed due to the rally special trains,” an official said.
Danapur divisional Railway Manager (DRM) B.D. Garg said the railways had drawn up an action plan to run special trains on Oct 27 and 28.
“We have made elaborate arrangements for smooth running of passenger trains as well as long distance trains,” he said.
The ECR has borrowed coaches from different zones because of shortage of coaches in view of several Puja specials trains running throughout the country.
Several senior railway officials have been deputed to supervise the arrangement of special trains for the rally. Hundreds of railway officials including TTEs, stationmasters and traffic inspectors would be deployed to manage their smooth running.
The RJD sources claimed the rally special trains would ferry at least 200,000 people to Patna.
“The Chetawani Rally will set a new record as over one million people are expected to attend it,” a RJD leader said.