Mandya MP defends action saying negative people must change their attitude

Mandya: The usually peaceful Mandya Railway Station was a hub of activity last evening as Mandya MP Sumalatha paid a visit to the Station and took a train to Bengaluru. Draped in a fenugreek yellow saree with red border, Sumalatha arrived at the Station at around 4 pm and she interacted with passengers and Policemen, hearing their grievances.

Usually Sumalatha travels in a luxury car from Mandya to Bengaluru and yesterday, she chose the Tanjavoor-Mayiladuturai Express that left Mandya at about 5 pm to reach Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Station at the State Capital. Sumalatha was accompanied by producer-actor Rockline Venkatesh and local leader Induvalu Sachidananda. 

It was Sumalatha’s surprise visit and as she arrived at the Station entry gate in her car, Railway officials, though taken by surprise, welcomed her and led her to the platform. They explained various passenger-friendly initiatives taken at the Station. She also interacted with women passengers and Home Guards posted at the Station. Her attention was particularly drawn towards the facilities available for women. 

The actor-turned politician sat on a stone bench at the Station and interacted with passengers and Railway officials. Speaking to reporters, Sumalatha said that she has already requested Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi to improve the facilities between Bengaluru and Mysuru and add additional compartments for women passengers in all trains during peak hours. Her supporters said that the train travel helps her effectively place demands before Railways. 

Later, she boarded the train and sat in an AC compartment to travel to Bengaluru. However, this was not received well as the social media was flooded with comments criticising the MP for taking the AC compartment.

B.T. Mohan Kumar of Nagamangala posted the photo of the MP, seated in the air-conditioned coach on his Facebook Wall, posing a question: “Can you listen to the woes of the common passengers, if you travel in an AC coach?” Several netizens commented that the MP should stand in a queue and buy tickets and must use the wash basin and washroom like common people to understand the plight of daily travellers. 

Along with such comments, she also received support as many netizens saying that there is nothing wrong in Sumalatha taking a train. One Nandi Gowda has defended the train travel by Sumalatha and commented: “Others travel by Range Rover and not by train.” His reference was apparently directed towards former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy who always travels on his luxury SUV. For the record, Sumalatha trounced Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy in Mandya in the last Parliamentary election.

Reacting to the comments, Sumalatha tweeted this morning and said, “For those who have nothing but negative comments in anything and every good thing too…I have nothing to say other than try to change your attitude… you can then bring a change into society too maybe Have a Good Day my friends.” 

“It’s not just the train but the station and platform facilities plus the problems faced by public as I was interacting with lots of commuters, also the intention was to encourage people to take the train,” she tweeted.