The IRCTC on Friday said it had imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on a licensee who had supplied cups with the BJP’s slogan ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ on trains.
“The space in cups and other such materials is used for paid publicity by the licensees as per the agreement. The licensees are supposed to take prior permission for printing advertisements from IRCTC. However, in this case no such approval has been taken,” the IRCTC said in a statement. Accordingly, the corporation also served a show-cause notice on the licensee. “These lapses were overlooked by the on-board supervisory staff/pantry in-charges. Explanation has been called for, from the on-board supervisory staff/pantry in-charges for carelessness,” it said.
Strict compliance
The IRCTC said only a few cups were used on Friday. “The cups have since been withdrawn. Clear instructions are already available in this matter and are being reiterated for strict compliance,” it added.
Air India which is facing flak for issuing boarding passes with photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in an advertisement of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit had said it would withdraw these after former Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Shashi Kant highlighted the issue on Twitter earlier this week. Though the summit was held in January, the passes continued to be in use all over Air India’s network.