Opposition party leaders have slammed the Centre over the tragic train collision incident in Odisha and asked for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The opposition has also questioned the signalling system of the railways which purportedly led to the crash which killed more than 288 people and injured 1000s.
West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress’ national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee took a dig at the Centre for boasting of the Vande Bharat trains and newly constructed railway stations. He wrote on Facebook, “The Modi government boasts of the Vande Bharat trains and newly constructed railway stations, hastily inaugurating projects to bolster political support by misleading the public. Despite technological advancements, on one hand the government resorts to software such as Pegasus to spy on opposition leaders, SC judges, journalists but on the other hand neglects to implement GPS and anti-collision devices to prevent unfortunate incidents.”
His post continued, “Tragically, it is the impoverished and marginalized who bear the brunt of these actions, whether it be through Demonetisation, GST, Hasty Lockdowns, Draconian Farm Laws or inadequate railway safety measures. The visuals are heart-wrenching. Over one hundred lives have been lost and the Prime Minister bears a considerable amount of responsibility. My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured and if there remains a semblance of conscience, the Railway Minister should resign. NOW!”
CPI MP Binoy Viswam also demanded the resignation of the Railway Minister. He wrote, “Government concentrate only on luxury trains. Trains and tracks of common people are neglected.Orissa deaths are the result of it. Rail minister should resign.”
On the other hand, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the ‘horrendous’ accident reinforced why safety should always be the priority in the functioning of the rail network. He wrote, “The rail crash in Odisha is truly horrendous. It is a matter of the greatest anguish. It reinforces why SAFETY should always be the foremost priority in the functioning of the rail network. There are many legitimate questions that need to be raised but that should wait till tomorrow.”
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi, too, expressed their grief and urged the party workers to provide all possible help.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, too, demanded the resignation of the Railway Minister. Calling it ‘sheer negligence’, he said, “This is sheer negligence, the railway minister is from Odisha and should resign on moral grounds.”
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that people identified for the deadly rail accident in Odisha have been identified. The Minister reviewed the restoration work at the triple train collision site in Balasore on Sunday and said that the accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking. The rail accident claimed 288 passengers’ lives and injured more than 1,000. Rescue and restoration work at the accident site is underway.
