Over 3 crore fake accounts removed from IRCTC portal: Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): More than three crore fake accounts from the IRCTC portal have been removed as part of efforts to deal with touts selling train tickets and around 78 per cent of the seats in trains are in the non-AC categories, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Asserting that the government's focus is to ensure comfortable and affordable services to the people, the minister also said that more than 75,000 special trains have been operated so far this financial year.
Vaishnaw was responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha related to overcrowding in long distance trains.
Steps have been taken to tackle the issue of touts selling train tickets and over three crore fake accounts have been removed from the IRCTC portal, he said and stressed that genuine passengers are getting train tickets.
According to him, around 70 per cent of the coaches in trains are general and sleeper coaches while 78 per cent seats are in the non-AC categories.
About running more trains during peak seasons, he said the government introduced more number of special trains compared to the UPA government.
The minister also said that due to focus on railway safety, consequential accidents have come down 90 per cent.
Earlier, the House also paid tributes to former members Visnu Modi and Datta Meghe who passed away this month.
As a mark of respect for the departed souls, the members and Speaker Om Birla also stood in silence for a brief while.
Before mentioning the obituary references, Birla urged the members to come to the House after going through the agenda for the day as some members were shouting slogans.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Will continue to keep tab on development work in Bihar: Nitish to JD(U) MLAs
Patna (PTI): JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Monday told party legislators that he will continue to keep a tab on the development work in Bihar despite having given up the chief minister's post a week ago.
Kumar addressed a meeting of the legislative party at 1, Anney Marg, which is the official residence of the chief minister and which the JD(U) supremo, now a Rajya Sabha MP, had occupied for nearly two decades.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, "Our party leader has said that except for sessions of Parliament, which would require his presence in Delhi, he will spend his maximum time in Bihar."
"Nitish Kumar told us that he will ensure that the good work done while he was in power continues under the new government, in which the JD(U) is an important partner. To keep a tab, he will tour the state in due course," Neeraj Kumar said.
The JD(U) spokesperson was asked about speculations that the meeting had been convened to decide on the role to be assigned to Nishant, the party supremo's son, who joined the JD(U) last month, but has declined to accept a ministerial berth in the Samrat Choudhary government.
"There is no confusion about the role of Nishant, who has been accepted by the party as the leader of the future. In any case, there was no discussion on him today," Neeraj Kumar said.
Nitish Kumar has been authorised by the legislators to decide on choosing the legislative party leader, he added.
Among those present at the meeting were Union minister and former JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' and Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav.
Interestingly, don turned politician Anant Kumar Singh, who represents Mokama assembly seat, claimed after the meeting that MLAs were asked by the supreme leader to try and win "200 seats in the next elections".
"Nitish Kumar ji told us that he will now be more easily available for party workers and general public. He also said that he will extensively tour the state and asked us to work hard so that the party wins 200 seats in the next elections", said Singh, who is often in news for putting his foot in the mouth.
The Bihar assembly is 243-strong and the JD(U)'s current tally is 85, four less than ally BJP, which is the single largest party.
The JD(U)'s best-ever performance was in 2010, when it had contested 142 seats and won 115 of these. It was also the highest tally for any single party since Bihar's truncation in 2000, until when Jharkhand was part of the state and assembly had 324 seats.
