TIRUCHY: Chairman of Railway Board’s Passenger Service Committee (PSC), Ramesh Chandra Ratn,
on Thursday described Khushwant Singh’s novel ‘Women, Sex, Love and Lust’ and Chetan Bhagat’s novel ‘Half Girlfriend’ as “vulgar” and said the committee would recommend to the Union Government to ban sale of the novels in railway stations.
He said this to media persons during his inspection of the Tiruchy railway station.
When asked if he had read the novels, he did not give a clear answer.
“Railways is the lifeline of the nation. Therefore, vulgar books should not be sold there. This is as per the by-laws,” he said.
When media persons pointed out to the senior official that the novels had not been banned in the country, Ratn explained, “We have made the suggestion for its ban in railway bookstalls. As per the by-law, our committee can examine and recommend the sale and publications of books based on the regional and
territorial requirements. We would also suggest sale of literature that promote national integration, social justice, communal harmony and rural development.”
Answering to the question on any plans to ban other books, he simply said “Vulgar materials should not be sold on railway property.”
Earlier, members of the committee conducted inspection in Srirangam and Tiruchy railway stations and expressed satisfaction with the level of cleanliness in Srirangam station. A reward of Rs 5000 as appreciation for the Srirangam station was announced.
The team, however, noticed some minor issues in the Tiruchy railway station. “We found that one of the stalls did not mention GST number in its bill. So we imposed penalty of Rs 5000 on the vendor,” Chairman Ramesh Chandra Ratn said.
When it was pointed out to him that the station did not have enough facilities for PwDs, Ratn enquired about it with officials. The officials informed him that they were planning to install six escalators and two lifts. They also assured him that this will be done within a year.
Apart from the chairman, other four members, Venkataramani, MN Sundar, Pachanan Rout, Sadanand Tanavade, also visited the Tiruchy railway station for inspection.