Austerity express: With ‘waiting list’ stamp,Rahul confirms berth

A resident of Amritsar who travelled with Rahul in the morning,Jagmail Singh,said: There were no security checks at all. It was when we saw some stern-looking securitywallahs going and up and down the aisle that we realised that we had a VIP on board.”

Rahul,who sat in the first row,was served vegetarian breakfast,on normal cutlery. Reportedly he demanded that he be served water too in a plastic cup like the other passengers.

He reached to a warm welcome by proud Congressmen. After addressing a Youth Congress meeting,Rahul returned to Delhi by the evening Swarn Shatabdi.

This time,with the train full,some passengers were inconvenienced by the Congress leader’s security. Shiv Parasada Mittal and wife Raj Rani Mittal said they found it tough to reach,ironically,their C3 executive class coach which is right behind the economy class. “It is nice to see VVIPs like Rahul travelling by train,but for old people like us for whom walking is a difficult task,a detour to reach our coach is difficult.”

Another C3 passenger,Naresh Bhalla,complained that entry into the coach was allowed from only one gate,manned by security guards,and this caused some panic as the train stops for just three minutes at the Ludhiana railway station.” with PTI