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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the government of failing to provide basic facilities to railway passengers as thousands of people attempted to return to Bihar ahead of the Chhath festival.
Gandhi said the conditions on trains reflected not just poor management but a deeper neglect of migrant workers and their rights.
“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,” he wrote on X. “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.”
He questioned the government’s claim that 12,000 special trains had been deployed for the festive rush, asking: “Where are they? Why do conditions get worse every year? Why are the people of Bihar forced to return home in such humiliating conditions?”
Linking the travel crisis to Bihar’s wider migration problem, 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.”
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav joined the attack, accusing the BJP-led government of “betraying” Bihar’s people. In a post on X, he called the Prime Minister 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,” Yadav wrote. “For the people of Bihar who have suffered from migration during 20 years of NDA rule, being forced to travel in such inhuman conditions is shameful.”
These comments came as videos circulating on social media showed chaotic scenes on long-distance trains, with passengers sitting on floors, crammed into aisles and hanging out of doors.
One passenger on board the Awadh Assam Express told reporters at Lucknow’s Charbagh station: “I haven’t been to the washroom since I boarded. I fear drinking water.”
The railways said it had introduced over 12,000 special trains this season to manage the surge in passenger numbers.
Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the Northeast Frontier Railways, said the additional services were connecting key stations across Bihar to ensure “a safe and comfortable journey” for people travelling home for Diwali and Chhath. Automatic ticket vending machines had also been installed to ease congestion at ticket counters, he said.
But the move has done little to quell public anger or Opposition attacks.
