TMC: Modi govt spending crores on selfie booths, curbing expenses for Rly safety

Kolkata: Sharing an RTI report on the expenses on installation of 3D selfie booths at Railway stations across Central Railway, Trinamool Congress (TMC) has criticised the BJP-led Central government for having “skewed priorities” for not spending enough on safety measures to prevent train accidents.

TMC on Friday took to social media to vilify the BJP government for prioritising selfie booths over Railway safety measures to prevent accidents. It alleged that about Rs 1.62 crore was spent in installing selfie booths at Railway stations where individuals can take selfies with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It alleged that on the contrary, the Central government has assigned only Rs 4225 crore to the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh which is significantly less than the required Rs 20000 crore, leading to tragedies such as the Balasore triple train accidents.

The RTI reply shared by the party purportedly showed that such 3D selfie booths have been installed at Mumbai, Bhusaval, Nagpur, Pune and Solapur divisions.

The installations involve both permanent and temporary ones. For category A stations, temporary installations were set up at a cost of Rs 125000 for each installation. For category C stations, permanent installations were set up at a cost of Rs 625000 for each installation.

The TMC wrote on X: “@BJP4India Govt’s Skewed Priorities! HIGH PRIORITY:Emphasis on PM @narendramodi’s Popularity; Invests ₹1.62 Cr in installing selfie booths at railway stations, where individuals can take selfies with images of PM. LOW PRIORITY: Assigns ₹4,225 Cr to the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh, significantly less than the required ₹20,000 Cr, leading to tragedies like the Balasore triple train accidents PM’s PR stunts are more important than people’s lives! What a dystopian world we are living in!”