Congress accuses PM Modi of betraying Bihar with false train promise for Chhath

The Congress Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of betraying the faith of Bihar’s people by falsely promising 12,000 trains for the Chhath Puja festival, one of the region’s most sacred celebrations.

Addressing a press conference, Congress Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh and party media coordinator Abhay Dubey slammed the Modi government for falling drastically short of its pledge.

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“Only 1,500 trains ran instead of the promised 12,000,” said Akhilesh Prasad.

“Millions of devotees faced severe hardships, many were forced to travel sitting in toilets. This is a mockery of Chhath Maiya and the public’s faith.”

Akhilesh drew parallels between this deception and BJP’s historical pattern of unfulfilled election promises. “Now, even the sacred Chhath festival is being used for political gimmicks,” he said, expressing concern over the dilapidated condition of Chhath ghats across Bihar.

The Congress leaders also targeted the Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar in alliance with BJP. “Despite 17-18 years of rule, Bihar remains at the bottom in education, health, and industrial development, according to the NITI Aayog report,” Akhilesh noted.

Abhay Dubey highlighted the human cost of this failure. “Modi’s false promise was aimed at winning votes, but the people paid the price,” he said. “The Nitish-Modi government first forced migration by denying jobs and opportunities, and now they torture people during their most important festival.”

Dubey pointed to the stark contrast between the leaders’ luxury and public suffering. “While dozens of helicopters sit idle at Patna airport ferrying Modi and BJP leaders, ordinary Biharis struggle to survive,” he charged.

Backing their claims with data from the e-Shram portal, Dubey said, “Over 31 million laborers in Bihar earn less than 10,000 rupees per month. Nearly 90 million people survive on just 67 rupees a day, with one family member forced to migrate for work.”