Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday highlighted the hardships faced by porters who risked their lives to help people during the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station last month.
In a video posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account of his interaction with porters at the New Delhi railway Station, Gandhi said that we will fight for their rights.
The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha also praised the efforts of porters in assisting passengers during the stampede on February 15.
“A few days ago, I reached New Delhi Railway Station and met the coolie brothers again. During the conversation, they told me how they made every possible effort to save lives—helping people out of the crowd, bringing the injured to ambulances, assisting the administration, and even using their own money,” he said.
Gandhi noted that despite their role in managing the crisis, porters continue to struggle financially.
“Some days we don’t even have money to eat. Should we send money home or use it for our meals?”, a porter was telling Gandhi.
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Addressing their plight, Gandhi said he will place their demands before the government.
“I will place their demands before the government and fight with all my might for their rights”, Gandhi said.
18 people were crushed to death when a stampede broke out at Platform 14 of the New Delhi Railway Station.
According to the postmortem reports of 15 victims, 12 died of “traumatic asphyxia,” two from “hemorrhagic shock” due to chest injuries, and one from “blunt surface impact” to the head and chest. The three people who did not die of suffocation were all killed from trampling with reports indicating fatal injuries to the lungs, heart, and head, the postmortem report added.