Seat allotted to Lord Shiva on Kashi-Mahakal Express to seek blessings for project: IRCTC

IRCTC on Monday said a seat was reserved for Lord Shiva in Kashi Mahakal Express during its inaugural run as a "one-time affair" to seek "blessings" for success of new project, as some questioned move. train staff had "temporarily put photos of Shri Mahakaal" on an upper berth during inaugural run on Sunday to perform pooja, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) said in a statement.

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi questioned move and tweeted a photo of Preamble of Constitution, tagging Prime Minister's Office (PMO). railways had reserved seat number 64 in coach B5 for Lord Shiva on train that will connect three Jyotirlingas -- Omkareshwar near Indore, Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi. train's first commercial run is scheduled on February 20.

" staff of new Kashi-Mahakal Express train temporarily put photos of Shri Mahakaal on an upper berth so as to do pooja to seek blessings for success of new project (new train and new rake). It is meant only for inaugural run as a one-time affair.

" inaugural run was also t open to passengers. re is going to be such reserved or dedicated berth for this purpose in commercial run of train which is starting from February 20, 2020 onwards," IRCTC said in statement.

It will be third train to be run by IRCTC, a subsidiary of Indian Railways that handles catering, tourism and online ticketing operations. train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 16 from Varanasi junction.