LORD SHIVA had a berth reserved for Him probably for the first time ever on a train, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Kashi Mahakal Express from Varanasi on Sunday (16).
Railways authorities are mulling if they should make the reservation for the "Bhole Baba" a permanent feature of the train, which connects three Jyotirlingas (devotional representations of Lord Shiva) in Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh), Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
“It's for the first time that a seat has been reserved and left vacant for the deity Lord Shiva,” Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar told PTI.
"Even a temple has been drawn on the seat to make people aware that the seat is reserved for the Lord Mahakal in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain."
Light devotional music, two dedicated private guards in every coach and only vegetarian meals will be some of the new features of the fully 3-AC service that will run thrice a week between Varanasi and Indore.
The news saw AIMIM leader Asaduddin Oawaisi raise the secularism card. Tagging the Prime Minister's Office, the Hyderabad MP tweeted a photo of the Indian Constitution's Premable.
The Mahakal Express is the third corporate train launched by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
The Patel family during the event
