'Shoot At Sight' If Protesters Vandalise Railway Property: Junior Railway Minister

Amid unrest across the country over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Union Minister of State (MoS) Railways, Suresh Angadi on Tuesday, December 17, warned the concerned district administration and railway authorities to ‘shoot’ at sight if anybody is seen destroying public property.

“I strictly warn concerned district administration and railway authorities, if anybody destroys public property, including railway, I direct as a Minister, shoot them at sight”, Angadi told ANI when asked about the losses faced by railways in West Bengal and other states due to the ongoing protests in the belt.

The minister further said that it is taxpayers’ money and it takes years to develop one train.

“If anybody throws stones at that time government should take stringent action like Vallabhbhai Patel. Local minorities, some communities are unnecessarily creating problems to destabilise the country’s economy,” he added.

Railway services between West Bengal and Northeast came to a complete halt on Monday on account of agitations. Officials said all trains heading from Howrah, Sealdah and Kolkata stations to north Bengal have also been suspended until further notice, keeping in mind the safety of passengers.

Earlier on Tuesday, as many as 17 Odisha-bound trains were cancelled in view of the ongoing agitation.

“In connection with law and order problem in the jurisdiction of Northeast Frontier Railway and in New Farakka-Azimganj and Krishnanagar-Lalgola Sections of Eastern Railway, 19 trains have been cancelled for today,” Public Relations Officer of Eastern Railway said in a release.

This is not the first time that the minister has made a controversial and absurd remark.

Last month, he rebutted the opposition’s criticism of the economy and claimed that the economy is “doing fine”. He said “airports and trains are full and people are getting married”, to back his statement.

Parliament had passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, last week and it became an act after receiving assent from President Ram Nath Kovind. Since then, violence has been reported across the country and after Sunday’s police action against Jamia Milia Islamia University students, several other university campuses have erupted in protests to express solidarity.

Also Read: ‘Economy Doing Fine’, Airports Are Full, People Are Getting Married: Union Minister, Suresh Angadi