Now MPs want special facilities on Delhi Metro?

Being a parliamentarian in India is a terrible thing. You get privileges for representing people, quotas for rail and air travel and worst of all if you decide to travel by Delhi Metro you have no one to receive and assist you. A committee of the Lok Sabha reportedly met with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief and asked them to devise a protocol for MPs where they could be received and escorted into a train. [caption id=“attachment_335634” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A train on the Delhi Metro. AFP”]  [/caption] An unnamed government official has been quoted in the Indian Express saying that the metro line has been asked to look into creating a system to receive  MPs, ‘assist’ them in boarding trains and maybe even have a separate ticket counter for them. However, committee chairman JP Agarwal, Congress MP from North-East Delhi, denied seeking any special treatment and was quoted as saying “As laymen, we just wanted to know what are the facilities extended by the Metro and their guidelines, so that we can create awareness among members.” And in case you were wondering if you will bump into any MPs in a metro anytime soon it’s unlikely. The MPs were mainly interested in the Airport Express line which connects the city to the air terminal. A little surprising since most of them prefer to take the road, given they get an allowance for fuel. This demand comes even as allegations that our Parliamentarians are seeking better treatment while flying on national carrier Air India, which is struggling with financial troubles of its own. And this is what our Parliamentarians get presently.