Harsimrat flags off Bathinda Shatabdi; BJP stays away

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 18

Local BJP workers today boycotted the flag off ceremony of the Bathinda-New Delhi Shatabdi Express by Union Minister and local Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

They were angry that the government advertisements in various newspapers on today’s function did not carry the photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu.

This was confirmed by BJP Bathinda (urban) chief Parminder Goyal. He said: “The train was flagged off by the Railway Minister from New Delhi this morning. Harsimrat held another ceremony here to take credit for the same. She should have welcomed the train at the railway station here.”

Though the SAD had organised a ceremony at Bathinda with much fanfare, the BJP, at the last moment, decided to flag off the train from New Delhi.

As per the earlier schedule, the Railway Minister was to flag off the train from Bathinda on October 31. But that function was cancelled because of some reason.