BJP veteran Laxmi Kanta Chawla hits out at Modi for apathy towards common man

Agencies
December 27, 2018

New Delhi, Dec 27: Former Punjab Minister and BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla has rapped Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal for the alleged apathy towards the common man and urged them to forget about the “bullet” train.

In a video that went viral on Wednesday, Ms. Chawla is seen aboard a train, appealing to the Modi government to “have mercy on the common man”. “I am on board the Saryu Yamuna Express for 24 plus eight hours. This train is running nine hours behind schedule. For God’s sake, forget about bullet train, focus on the trains that are already running,” she said in the video.

“Modiji, the public is distressed. Whose achche din [good times] have come, we don’t know. But most certainly, achche din have not come for the common man, for the poor and the unemployed. I have myself seen engineering diploma holder youth doing menial jobs. What have you given them?” she said.

Tells Minister to travel sometimes like a commoner

She also took on Mr. Goyal, saying the claims that milk is arranged for babies and doctors attend to the sick travelling on trains if they just tweet their needs seemed to be merely a “publicity stunt”.

 “We have been dialling railway helplines 138 and 139 and sending you [Mr. Goyal] emails but there is no one out there to listen to our woes. There is no food on this train, the seats are broken, toilet seats are dirty and doors have to be opened with a lot of difficulty,” she said.

She asked the Railway Minister to travel sometimes like a commoner in a train to see the hardships the traveller faces.

“What if Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains are good? These are for rich people. What about trains like this one in which the labourers, farmers, soldiers and their families travel? Hundreds are sleeping in the open at railway stations in this bitter cold for want of waiting rooms,” she said.

“Andher nagri, chopat raja [Dark is the nation, insane is the king],” she added.

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Mohammed SS
 - 
Thursday, 27 Dec 2018

Waaaaaw... some body open the truth of real face of BJP

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News Network
December 16,2025

bengal.jpg

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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