The Kerala Congress on Thursday shared a video highlighting the issue of train overcrowding in Uttar Pradesh. The video, showing a packed train from Gorakhpur, was accompanied by a message directed at Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on his X account.
"Dear Amitabh Bachchan, we need a small help from you. Crores of ordinary people are forced to travel like this. Even the reserved compartments are packed with people. It is 52 degrees Celsius in North India, and this video is from Gorakhpur where the UP Chief Minister hails from," the Kerala Congress stated.
The video depicted an overcrowded train compartment with passengers struggling in the heat, attempting to cool themselves with plastic fans. The Kerala Congress criticised the central government, noting that while the country's population increased by 14 crores in the past, the number of trains added to the fleet has not kept pace.
"We've added quite a few Vande Bharats to the fleet even though half of them are running with very low occupancy," the party said.
The Kerala Congress further explained their decision to appeal to Amitabh Bachchan, citing previous attempts to address the issue through official channels. They claimed that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has not responded to their requests to increase the number of trains but quickly addresses issues raised by celebrities and the affluent, even if the request is as minor as recovering a hacked Twitter account.
The party said it sought to leverage Amitabh Bachchan's influence tp bring attention to the overcrowding issue. "Given your influence and commitment to social causes, we request you to tweet about this matter. Your support can help bring much-needed attention to the plight of these people and potentially inspire action," the Kerala Congress said.