BJP aims to facilitate Ayodhya trip of over 1 lakh devotees from Punjab by March-end

The first train is scheduled to be flagged off in Amritsar on February 7 and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) members are coordinating with the prospective commuters for the train which will have stoppages at Beas, Jalandhar City, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Ambala before reaching Ayodhya, they said, adding commuters will board the train at all these stoppages.

The second train to Ayodhya with 20 bogies will be from Pathankot on February 9.

“Ten bogies have been allotted to Pathankot and the remaining 10 to Jalandhar Cantonment. The train will ferry 1,345 passengers and the travel expense per passenger will be Rs 1,250,” said BJP leader Manjit Singh Rai, who is making arrangements for the journey.

Although the railways needs to be paid for the travel, BJP leaders in various cities are advertising it as a ‘free rail yatra to Ayodhya.

According to local BJP leaders, religious institutions are sponsoring the travel expenses of commuters, while they, along with NGOs in Punjab and Ayodhya, will provide for food and stay in Ayodhya.

“Special trains are being sent to Ayodhya from 430 places across the country. Punjab has so far got only four trains and Chandigarh one. We have a demand for one train each for Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Bathinda; in fact, a train for each constituency. However, we will have to plan once the scheduling of the trains is done,” Rai said.

Notably, the first special train departs from Amritsar on February 7 to return on February 10; the second from Pathankot on February 9 and returns on February 12 evening; the third from Nangal Dam on February 12 and returns on February 14; the fourth from Chandigarh on February 19 and returns on February 22; and the fifth from Pathankot on February 23 and will be back on February 26, according to party sources.

The train from Nangal will have a travel expense of Rs 1,100 per person, which will be sponsored, they said.

On February 23, a special train will leave for Ayodhya from Pathankot — the Assembly constituency of BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma.

BJP Pathankot district president Vijay Sharma told The Indian Express, “All passengers of Pathankot have paid for their tickets, while we will provide food and stay. In Pathankot, no one sponsored the tickets.”

“Apart from the four special trains from Punjab and one from Chandigarh, people are also travelling to Ayodhya in routine trains.

Consent forms to travel and copies of the Aadhaar cards of interested devotees were taken in January. Given the huge rush in Ayodhya, we will be taking devotees to Ayodhya after getting the go-ahead from there,” said Yogesh Sharma, BJP mandal president, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Ludhiana.

Yogesh, who has put up posters with the message of “free rail yatra to Ayodhya” in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, said, “We will get the tickets of the interested passengers booked, making it a free rail yatra for them. The BJP district unit will manage the expenses by themselves or will get them sponsored by good Samaritans. Whatever is the case, we will send devotees once we get the go-ahead from the Ayodhya temple trust.”

“If we get a full bogie booked in a regular train, it will also become a special train. So, we can’t wait for the allocation of a special train,” said a BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.

However, BJP senior leader Dr Subhash Gupta in Chandigarh said, “Train travel expenses from Chandigarh to Ayodhya are Rs 1,100 per person. Devotees are paying for their travel, while we are bearing other expenses. I am not aware of free rail yatra being provided by anyone.”

Asked whether the travel to Ayodhya by special trains will be free for commuters, Rai said, “Local BJP leaders are managing travel expenses on their own because the railways needs to be paid for every commuter. Many ‘Ram bhakts’ are sponsoring the travel. The list of such sponsors is huge…many are paying for full bogies. It is their dedication towards Lord Rama.”

BJP Bathinda unit president Sarup Chand Singla said, “We have as of now demanded one train for the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency comprising nine Assembly constituencies in the first phase as we have to take 9,000 people per Lok Sabha constituency. But the actual demand is five times more. Many good Samaritans are approaching us to sponsor the travel expenses while many others are willing to pay for the expenses on their own. Once we are allotted a special train, we will plan things accordingly.”

Though the BJP plans to take 9,000 devotees per Lok Sabha constituency to Ayodhya ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, it is not clear how they will plan these visits by March-end.