Bogibeel Bridge over Brahmaputra River
Bogibeel Bridge over Brahmaputra River. Photo: Northeast Now

Believe it or not -Ministry of Railways can make anyone a member of Parliament on any given day at its own free will.

In a major goof up by the Indian Railways, Prasanta Phukan, the legislator from Dibrugarh in eastern Assam has turned into a parliamentarian over night!

Also read: Bogibeel: India’s longest rail cum road bridge to boost defense capabilities

Yes, that true, the invitation letter issue by the Indian Railways for the grand inauguration of the much-hyped Bogibeel Bridge by Prime Minister Narendra Modi states that Prasanta Phukan is a member of the Parliament.

Whereas, actually, Phukan is a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Dibrugarh constituency.

Also read: Row over naming Bogibeel bridge: Tai Ahom groups call road blockade

bogibeel invitation new

The invitation letter in Assamese carries names of several stalwarts to be present at the grand inauguration of the country’s longest rail cum road bridge over the Brahmaputra River on December 25 next.

Among the dignitaries to be present on the  momentous occasion, Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi will grace the programme arranged at the north bank of Bogibeel bridge in Dibrugarh on that day.

Also read: Name Bogibeel Bridge as Birangana Sati Sadhani Setu: Assam Govt

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal is also coming to be part of the historic moment.

However, goof ups do not end with Phukan’s ‘position’.

Also read: Bogibeel Bridge can survive earthquake with magnitude  of over 7.0

It remains unclear from the invitation letter as to whether Prof Mukhi or Union Rail Minister Goyal will preside over the inaugural programme.

The other guests of honour list include Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju and Union DoNER Minsiter Dr Jitendra Singh.

Among the special guests include Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Lok Sabha members Rameswar Teli and Pradan Baruah, legislator Bhuban Pegu and of course the man in question, Prasanta Phukan.

The NF Railway, however, reacting to the Northeast Now report, tweeted that the card in question was not its official invitation card.

“This is not official invitation card. The official invitation has not been finalized yet,” NFR tweeted at 11.51 am on Thursday.

But the question is, how can the invitation card, be leaked before its finalisation.  Will NF Railway authorities initiate a probe to find out who are involved in the card leaks.