AAP Leader Sanjay Singh's Wife Says She Was Served 'Ghatiya Khana' On Tejas Express, IRCTC Says 'No One Else Complained'
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s wife, Anita Singh, recently traveled on the Tejas Express, a premium train operated by Indian Railways, but she found the food served onboard substandard. Expressing her dissatisfaction with the food's quality, Anita shared a picture of the meal and demanded that passengers' health should not be compromised, tagging Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Anita wrote, "The food served on the Tejas Express was utterly deplorable. The roti was as hard as papad, the paneer was stale, and instead of dal, only water was served. Is this the railway's 'world-class' service? Stop playing with passengers' health."
IRCTC took nearly a day to respond to the AAP leader’s wife’s post, stating that the meals were inspected before serving and that no other passengers had complained—rather, they had appreciated the food quality. However, they acknowledged the complaint and assured that a senior officer had been assigned to ensure compliance with all standards.
In its reply, IRCTC said, "Regarding your feedback about the catering services provided on 11/07/25 in the New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express, we wish to inform you that the food quality is checked before serving, and no complaints were received from other passengers in the same coach. In fact, the catering service has generally been appreciated. The onboard catering team attended to you and offered a replacement meal. Nevertheless, we take your feedback seriously, and to further enhance quality, a senior official has been appointed to ensure adherence to all standards. Appropriate measures will be taken accordingly."
The post sparked a debate on social media about the quality of food served on premium trains. Many users shared similar experiences while traveling, while others defended the food quality. Several people criticized the tone of IRCTC’s response.
One user criticized IRCTC for blaming the complainant, "IRCTC, what kind of ridiculous answer is this? Improve your service instead of blaming the person raising a complaint. @RailMinIndia, what kind of people have you appointed for consumer complaints? Pathetic."
Another user raised concerns about corrupt food contractors, "This reply from IRCTC exposes the rot within the system. Overcharging for meals and water is rampant across trains, not just one. Passengers complain, but your staff turns a blind eye every time. Instead of fake justifications, fix your corrupt food contractors."
A third user commented, "IRCTC, you can't escape your responsibilities. Serving poor-quality food is routine. Recently, I travelled on the Bhopal Shatabdi and faced the same issue. People don’t complain because they know nothing will improve."
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