Rahul Gandhi Claims ‘Anti-Poor’ BJP Govt Made Profit Via Shramik Trains; Railways Data Shows Loss Of Over Rs 1,700 Crore 

In his latest attack on the central government, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the ‘anti-poor’ BJP government was making a profit during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Expressing himself via the social media outlet Twitter, Gandhi accused the government of earning huge profits from running the Shramik special trains that were meant to ferry migrant labourers back to their home states amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted (as translated from Hindi), “There are ‘clouds’ of disease, people are in deep troubles, this opportunity can be utilised - the anti-poor government is earning by turning a disaster into profit.”

Notably, Rahul Gandhi was referring to the data shared by Railways Ministry which had stated that the national carrier had earned revenue of Rs 429.90 crore through the fares of its Shramik Special trains till 9 July.

However, a PTI report quoted a senior ministry official as saying that railways spent much more than it earned through fares. It spent Rs 3,400 per passenger the Shramik Special trains, which amounts to Rs 2,142 crore for around 63 lakh migrant workers transported in total.

The Railways managed to recover only 15 per cent of the cost of operations from states and the rest 85 per cent was borne by the ministry. Moreover, the fares were not taken from passengers, rather were released from the state government.

“The average fare per person on Shramik Special trains is Rs 600. However, we have spent Rs 3,400 per passenger, amounting to a total of Rs 2,142 crore. And by carrying 63 lakh migrant workers home since May 1, we generated a revenue of Rs 429 crore," the official added.

As per a LiveMint report, among the states, the Gujarat government has alone paid Rs 102 crore to the Railways for ferrying more than 15 lakh stranded migrant workers. Maharashtra comes second with close to Rs 85 crore being paid to Railways for transporting 12 lakh workers in 844 trains. Tamil Nadu, followed to Western states, paid Rs 34 crore to ferry around four lakh migrant workers to their home states in 271 trains.