Anubhi Saxena
NEW DELHI | Indian Railways has come under flames on March 29 as the passengers in the New Delhi Kathgodam Shatabdi Express reported that they were served tea in a cup with ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar‘ printed on it. The incident was advertised by a Twitter user, who posted a picture of a teacup.
The post was zealous on social media with people claiming it to be a violation of Model Code of Conduct ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls 2019. The advertisement on the cup was done by Sankalp Foundation, an NGO. ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ was launched by the BJP on March 20, and targets on how different people are guarding the country against various ills. The BJP campaign was initiated to coordinate various schemes launched by the Narendra Modi government in the last five years.
Following this, the Indian Railways Seva acknowledged the issue on March 29 and asked IRCTC North Zone to look into the matter. Taking note of the matter, IRCTC North Zone purged the user and asked for journey details of the passenger to take action in it.
This issue comes days after Air India decided to withdraw the boarding passes with photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on March 25.
The Indian Railways recently asked its different zones not to sell tickets displaying advertisements of the government’s achievements and the photo of Prime Minister Modi. A railway official said the tickets were printed well in advance and many of them carried advertisements approved by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity of the government of India.
The cup has now been withdrawn and panel action is being taken against the contractor, reported news agency ANI citing the Ministry of Railways.”It happened today but immediately glasses were withdrawn. Penal action is being taken against the contractor. The action is also being taken against the supervisor,” the ministry said. A fine of Rs 1 lakh has been imposed on the service provider. A showcause notice has also been served to the service provider for this misconduct. The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation also suspended the supervisor.
