Indian Railways IRCTC Latest News: Controversial newspaper was found in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) Shatabdi Express carrying train passengers on Friday (April 22, 2022) in Bengaluru city of Karnataka. These copies of the unauthorized publication contained objectionable articles. After the matter came to light, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has issued a warning to the licensee providing onboard services.
The Aryavarth Express, a Bengaluru publication, has on the front page “Genocide of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, under Islamic rule needs to be recognized” (Genocide of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists under Islamic rule needs to be recognized) and ” UN should label Aurangzeb as perpetuator of holocaust like Hitler” (UN should label Aurangzeb as Hitler).
PK Shefi, the licensee of the train, said that this paper (disputed) was delivered by the vendor as a supplement within the newspapers which have been recognized for distribution in trains of Indian Railways. However, a traveler who received the copy of the controversial newspaper meanwhile tweeted claiming that he was not inside the main newspapers.
According to Shefi, “Our boys who distributed the newspaper did not know that the controversial newspaper was inside the main newspapers. In any case, they themselves do not actually read the contents of the newspapers being distributed.” He further told- I have now instructed them not to distribute any kind of supplements or pamphlets. They distribute only the main newspaper during this period.
A photo of the front page of this newspaper dated April 22, 2022 was shared with a Twitter account named @gopikabashi. Along with this he wrote and asked – This morning I boarded the Bangalore-Chennai Shatabdi Express. There I came across the Aryavarth Express, a publication running propaganda on every seat. I had never heard about it before. After all how is IRCTC (tagging) approving it in trains?
IRTCT Chairman and MD Rajni Hasija said – We have warned the licensee. As per the contract, licensees can only supply complimentary copies of Deccan Herald and Kannada newspapers in trains. They should follow the contract.
Apart from Gopika Bakshi, other Twitter users also raised question marks about the arrival of a newspaper containing controversial articles in the train of Indian Railways. In response to such tweets, IRCTC was told that it has taken action. Said- We have strictly advised the vendors that such items should not be found in the newspapers in future. It was also told that the monitoring staff present on the train would also keep an eye on this. The licensee of the train was also informed about this.