Overview
- Videos that surfaced on Thursday showed Bhojpuri devotional songs being played over PA systems at several Mumbai stations, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and suburban stops such as Wadala.
- Central Railway said the music was played briefly in extra time slots at stations running special Chhath trains and defended the practice before stopping the playlists after public complaints.
- Commuters and passenger groups said loud songs sometimes overlapped with or displaced routine train announcements, creating inconvenience and raising safety concerns about missed operational information.
- The episode quickly became political with MNS chief Raj Thackeray accusing the BJP of engineering division for electoral gain and BJP-aligned leaders defending the practice while national figures including Prashant Kishor and Chirag Paswan criticised Thackeray’s remarks.
- Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and other local groups have filed formal complaints seeking records and permission details, and authorities are likely to review rules on PA use and festival programming at stations going forward.