‘Migrants train should reach destination’: Sanjay Raut’s jibe at Piyush Goyal over diversions

The Vasai Road-Gorakhpur Sharmik Special train to Uttar Pradesh, which left from Palghar on May 21, was diverted to a different route via Odisha due to heavy congestion.

In a dig at Railway Minister Piyush Goyal over the diversion of the Vasai Road-Gorakhpur Sharmik Special train via Odisha, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said their only request is that train carrying migrants should reach its destination as announced. Shiv Sena’s alliance partner NCP, however, took a different stand, saying Goyal and his ministry are under pressure and their efforts should be appreciated.

The Vasai Road-Gorakhpur Sharmik Special train to Uttar Pradesh, which left from Palghar on May 21, was diverted to a different route via Odisha due to heavy congestion. It reached Gorakhpur two-and-a-half days later, when it should have reached the destination in about 25 hours.

Amid the political slugfest over the Shramik Special trains, Goyal on Sunday night said, “We are ready to provide 125 Shramik Special trains to Maharashtra.”

“Since you have said that you have a list ready that is why I am requesting you to please provide all information like from where the train will run, the list of passengers according to the trains, their medical certificate and where the train is to go, to the General Manager of Central Railway within the next hour, so that we can plan the time of trains, the railway minister tweeted.

Commenting on it, Raut on Monday tweeted, “Maharashtra government has given you a list of workers who wish to return home. The only request is that the train should reach the station, as announced earlier.”

“The Gorakhpur bound train had reached Odisha,” the Sena Rajya Sabha member further said.

However, when asked if the railway minister was politicising the issue, senior NCP leader Praful Patel said the Indian Railways and Piyush Goyal are also under pressure to run the trains. “Their efforts should be respected. We appreciate that they are providing trains so that people can reach home,” Patel said.