Cups with ‘Main bhi Chowkidar’ slogan withdrawn from Shatabdi after complaint

Cups sporting the “Main bhi chowkidar” (I too am a watchman) slogan popularised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has launched a campaign of the same name, and used to serve tea on the Kathgodam Shatabdi train, were withdrawn on Friday because they violate the model code of conduct.

The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation also suspended the supervisor responsible for the catering and levied a fine of R 1 lakh on him. “We have taken action against the Supervisor and have withdrawn these cups,” said MP Mall, managing director of IRCTC. “News reports that tea has been served in cups sporting the slogan “Main bhi chowkidar” have been investigated. This was without any prior approval of IRCTC. The cups have been withdrawn with immediate effect. ~1 lakh fine has been imposed on the service provider. A show-cause notice has also been served for this misconduct,” said a spokesperson for Indian Railways. IRCTC does not allow political advertisements as per its contract with service providers. The matter has also been referred to the EC. “How could they allow this to happen? I was travelling in Kathgodam Shatabdi when I noticed the cup with political message. I complained to the on-board staff also,” said DN Mohanty, who retired as ADG from All India Radio.

Meanwhile, Air India, on Friday, again issued boarding passes with photographs of Narendra Modi and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, despite saying it has withdrawn such boarding passes on March 25. “AI issued notice on 25.03.19 to all domestic stations to discontinue usage of boarding cards with a Vibrant Gujarat advertisement on reverse with immediate effect. Today’s incident is because of human error. A show-cause notice for this error has been issued to the airport manager of AI at Madurai,” said AI Spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar.