LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI

In the first General Elections after India became a Republic, the Congress Party returned to power with a huge majority. Lal Bahadur Shastri worked hard for this success. He was the General Secretary of the Congress at the General Secretary of the Congress at the time. The selection of candidates and the direction of publicity and electioneering were under the direct guidance of Shastriji. But he did not contest the elections. However, Nehru did not wish to leave such an able and honest man outside the government. He persuaded him to seek election to the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha. He was appointed as the Railways and Transport Minister in the Central Cabinet (1952).

The railways are among the biggest Central Government undertakings, transport plays a vital role in the progress of any country. The railways in India had been badly disrupted after the division of the country. Lal Bahadur strove hard to set right and regulate the railways. It is not easy to organize movement ofpassengers and good from place to place without waste of time and without inconvenience. Lal Bahadur succeeded in this to a large extent. There were four classes- first, second, intermediate and third in the railways then. First class compartments offered extreme luxury and were almost heavenly.But the discomfort ofpassengers in the third class compartments was beyond description. They did not have even minimum comforts. Lal Bahadur's efforts to reduce the vast disparitybetween the first and the last classes cannot be forgotten. The first class that offered royal comfort was abolished. The old second came to be known as the first class and the intermediate class as the second class. His idea was to have only two classes of compartments in course of time - the first and the second. It was he who provided more facilities to travelers in third class compartments. It was during his time that fans were provided in the third class compartments. He also worked hard to improve the administration of Railways and to eliminate thefts in the trains.

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