BJP Slams Telangana Congress Dharna at SCR HQ Over Delhi Special Trains
The BJP says Congress's protest over denied party-worker trains to Delhi is a political stunt that ignores rail rules and festive-season disruption.
Telangana's BJP has fired back at the state Congress after party leaders staged a dharna at the South Central Railway headquarters over a request for special trains to carry workers to Delhi. On Thursday, BJP spokesperson NV Subhash called the October 28 protest another attempt to stir up controversy rather than deal with real issues.
The Congress protest was held outside the general manager's office. State party chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, and several MLAs and MPs joined in. They said the Railways turned down the request for workers heading to a rally in Delhi against the SIR revision of electoral rolls. Goud went further and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the refusal.
Subhash argued that the blame is misplaced because special trains do not appear on demand. Bookings need advance planning and must go through official Indian Railways channels, including the IRCTC Full Tariff Rate facility. Subhash questioned how a party that governed the country for six decades could be unaware of those steps.
His larger concern was the timing. Festive travel is already crowded, and Deepavali is close. Railways are already running extra services to handle the rush. Subhash suggested Congress could have asked for extra coaches instead, provided the request was operationally feasible and approved by the railway.
He also pointed to traders in Delhi, who have complained of lost sales during Navaratri and Dussehra due to repeated political agitations in the capital. For shopkeepers and small businesses that depend on the season, he said, the protests carry a real cost.
For everyday travellers, the dispute highlights how special train requests actually work. Parties and groups that want extra capacity during peak periods have to file formal applications well ahead of time. Requests that skip those steps can stall, and the resulting delays often fall on the public rather than the organisers.
The episode leaves a simple question for both sides: whether political mobilisation and festive-season rail planning can share the same calendar without leaving passengers and traders to absorb the disruption. For now, the BJP is urging opposition parties to follow established procedures and stop turning administrative decisions into political fights.
Read the original report at Daily Pioneer.
