"Insult To State": Congress MP On Attacks On Vande Bharat Train In Bengal

Criticising the West Bengal government for the two successive attacks on the Vande Bharat Express train in the state, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury here today said such incidents prove that administration is "good for nothing."

Two window panes of the Vande Bharat Express train were damaged after stones were allegedly pelted on the two coaches near the Phansidewa area of the Darjeeling district on Tuesday. This is the second such attack as earlier on Monday the stones were also thrown near Malda at the semi-high speed train connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri.

"Attacked twice in three days. Much like a T20 cricket match, what else?," Mr Chowdhury said, demanding the arrest of the accused.

"We want the West Bengal government to identify those who are doing it and punish them. This is the proof of the plight of the West Bengal administration," Mr Chowdhury said while interacting with media persons during the start of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra from Subhash Maidan in the Madhyamgram village of North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday morning.

He further said that "injustice" has happened. "Railways are people's property. It costs money to run railways. How can such an attack be successful? It is an insult to the state. It is our country's property. If it is stopped suddenly, it will cause inconvenience to the common people. We are concerned about this incident," he said.

Meanwhile, two days ago, Mamata Banerjee has said from Nazrul Manch in Kolkata that Trinamool does not do destructive politics.

"If Mamata Banerjee says that she did not do destructive politics, then it is not surprising. The Chief Minister of Bengal likes to survive by using destructive politics. Politics and Trinamool have become synonymous now," Mr Chowdhury said when asked about her comment.

The party's Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Bhattacharya also condemned the attack on Vande Bharat train, saying it is the failure of the chief minister "twice in a row".

In case of such incidents on trains, it is the responsibility of the state to look into the matter. And it is the responsibility of the central government to investigate the incident, he further said.

Earlier, Mr Chowdhury along with other Congress leaders including Bhattacharya and Mandakantra Sen hoisted the national flag at 9 am, before the start of the yatra.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)