Credit: @Benarasiyaa/X (formerly Twitter)
Jostling with each other to make their way through the crowd, the ordinary travellers were taken in by surprise, when they saw an SUV, which, it later turned out, was carrying a senior Uttar Pradesh minister, drove straight on to the platform using the ramp made for specially abled persons at Lucknow railway station.
The SUV, carrying UP minister for animal husbandry Dharmpal Singh, made its way to the escalator and stayed there until the minister boarded the train, which had arrived at platform number four on Wednesday evening.
According to sources, the minister, who was to travel to Bareilly from Lucknow, was getting late as his vehicle was stuck in a traffic jam amid heavy rains, and by the time he arrived at the station, there was very little time left for the departure of the train.
The minister, in a hurry to reach the platform, had his driver drive straight to the escalator using the ramp, which was for the specially abled people and used by the passengers to walk to the escalator. The barrier which was kept at the entry of the ramp to prevent any vehicle from getting in, was removed by the cops to enable the minister's vehicle to proceed unhindered, sources said.
While the railway officials refrained from commenting on the incident, which came to light when pictures showing the minister's vehicle moving on the ramp went viral on social media, the minister was unavailable for a comment.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, however, took potshots at the minster saying that the people should be thankful as the minister did not take a bulldozer to the platform, apparently referring to the use of bulldozers by the Yogi Adityanath government to demolish houses of alleged criminals.