Tejashwi Yadav Slams Centre Over Lack Of Bihar-Bound Trains During Chhath Rush

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday criticised the BJP-led central government, accusing it of failing to run enough Bihar-bound trains to accommodate the heavy rush of passengers ahead of Chhath Puja. He alleged that travelers were being forced to endure “inhumane conditions” on their journey home. 

In a video statement, Yadav said, “The railway minister and the other ministers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government blatantly lied that 12,000 out of 13,000 festive special trains are being operated for Bihar on the occasion of Chhath festival.”

Promising employment opportunities for migrant workers if the opposition INDIA bloc comes to power, the RJD leader said, “This is my promise to all people who have come to celebrate Chhath—that next year we will provide them employment here, and they will celebrate the festival with their families in Bihar itself.”

Yadav also urged returning migrants to stay back until polling day. “I urge all those who have come to Bihar for Chhath to have ‘thekua’ and not go back to their workplaces without casting their votes. They must vote for us as we promise to provide one government job to every family in the state,” he said. Thekua is a traditional delicacy offered as prasad during Chhath Puja.

Bihar will go to polls in two phases, on November 6 and 11, with counting of votes scheduled for November 14.

Showing videos of overcrowded trains, Yadav alleged that many passengers were “treated like animals and forced to travel even inside train toilets.” He said, “The people of Bihar, who have already been suffering due to migration under the NDA rule, can’t even get proper trains to come home for Chhath, the great festival of faith. This is extremely painful.”

Referring to government data presented in Parliament, Yadav said Bihar has around three crore registered migrant workers but claimed the actual number could be closer to five crore when unregistered migrants are included. He accused the NDA government of neglecting Bihar’s industrial development over the past two decades. “The NDA leaders are anti-Bihar. They set up industries in Gujarat and expect victory in Bihar—that can’t happen,” he said.

Quoting Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s earlier statement that industries cannot be set up in Bihar due to lack of available land, Yadav added, “People of Bihar will never forgive NDA leaders for this discriminatory treatment.”

With PTI inputs