Rahul Gandhi's train ride

Rahul Gandhi set a new benchmark in the Congress led austerity drive by taking the Shatabdi Train to Ludhiana from Delhi on Tuesday.

But the young Gandhi's attempt to play aam aadmi led to high drama after the train that he was travelling in was stoned near Panipat on its way to New Delhi, exposing chinks in our security apparatus.

Windowpanes of several coaches of the Swarn Shatabdi Express were shattered, leading to panic. The scion of the Nehru – Gandhi dynasty though was not perturbed by the incident. (PTI Photo)

Questions are being raised about austerity versus security. Security experts say train travel is more problematic than flying because of frequent stops and chance of unscheduled halts, and it's difficult to frisk other passengers. They say what Rahul did cannot and should not be done regularly.

V Kamraj, IG Rohtak (seen in this picture) was quoted as saying, "We are not taking the matter lightly, we can't rule out any possibility. Forensic experts have gone to Delhi for further investigation of the broken window panes." (PTI Photo)