178 vs 12,000: Bihar deputy CM Samrat Choudhary hits back at Lalu Prasad over Chhath special trains

Samrat Choudhary

With the onset of festivities surrounding Chhath Puja, political leaders in Bihar are leaving no stone unturned to count their people-centric schemes pertaining to the festival in the build-up to the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar.

In a comparative tone, Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Saturday claimed RJD chief Lalu Prasad arranged 178 trains for Chhath Puja when he was the railway minister, while the NDA government has announced over 12,000 special trains for the convenience of people to return home.

"When you were the railway minister, you arranged only 178 trains for Chhath, but PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar have announced more than 12,000 special trains. Is there any comparison?" he said, responding to the RJD supremo's social media post.

Choudhary added the decision to arrange such a huge number of trains was in no way connected to the assembly elections in the state, criticising Prasad, who alleged that people were being forced to return home in "inhumane conditions". The BJP leader claimed Prasad should "feel ashamed" before pointing fingers at the NDA government.

Lalu Prasad had accused the Centre of not running adequate Bihar-bound trains to facilitate people to visit their native places during the Chhath Puja, and said these people were "forced to travel in inhumane conditions".

"The uncrowned king of lies and the leader of empty promises had boasted that out of the country's total 13,198 trains, 12,000 would be operated for Bihar on the occasion of Chhath festival. This, too, turned out to be a blatant lie. My fellow Biharis are forced to travel in trains in an inhumane manner," he said in a post on X, sharing a video of passengers travelling in a packed train.

On Yadav's dig that CM Kumar has been "hijacked" by PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Choudhary said, "If anyone has emerged as the true leader of Bihar after Shri Babu, it is Nitish Kumar. He has worked for the people and ensured social justice."

Choudhary remarked that now Tejashwi Yadav, Prasad's son and the INDIA bloc's CM candidate for the Bihar polls, is trying to present himself as the 'nayak' (hero), but he is actually a 'nalayak' (useless).