BJP, AAP in credit war over train stoppage in Jalandhar

Jalandhar, December 29

The local unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today contested claims of MP Sushil Rinku that the stoppage of Vande Bharat Express train in Jalandhar had been facilitated due to his efforts.

BJP district president Sushil Sharma and general secretary Ashok Sareen Hickey were among others, who questioned the claims of the AAP MP, regarding the stoppage of the Delhi-Amritsar Vande Bharat Express in the city.

The BJP leaders said during the February trip of Union Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal, they had sought stoppages of the Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat Express train in Jalandhar and also of the train to Katra, Vaishno Devi. They said it was after this that the Union Railway Ministry’s project took shape and a Vande Bharat train from Amritsar was started, with a stoppage in Jalandhar. The declaration comes a day before the BJP state president Sunil Jakhar is to flag off the Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat Express from the Jalandhar Cantt railway station on Saturday.

BJP leaders said the demand for Vande Bharat Express trains and their stoppages in the region were taken up by the party and the AAP MP was seeking undue credit by spreading rumours. They said the decision of the stoppage of any Vande Bharat Express train required planning for at least four to five months and clearing of files.

BJP leaders also shared letters backing their claims. They shared a letter written by Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on February 20, 2023, requesting a stoppage of the Vande Bharat Express in Jalandhar. Another letter by the Railways Executive Director (Public Grievance), Vikas Jain to RK Mishra, PS of the Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, announcing the sanction of Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat train’s (No. 22487/88) stoppage at the Jalandhar Cantt station was shared by the BJP leaders.

Jalandhar MP Sushil Rinku had claimed that the train stoppage was announced after he met Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on December 20. Rinku said he placed the demand for a stoppage of the train in Jalandhar. Rinku also demanded stoppage of the already running New Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express in Jalandhar.

A formal release on December 27 claimed, “The hard work of Lok Sabha Member Sushil Kumar Rinku yielded results when Jalandhar stoppage was also included in the schedule of Delhi-Amritsar Vande Bharat Express. This new train would be launched by the Railways on December 30 with a stop in Jalandhar.”