Bhubaneswar: In order to press their demand for resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Bahanaga train accident in Odisha, 12 Opposition parties staged a dharna in front of the headquarters of East-Coast Railway in Bhubaneswar on Monday.
Speaking to the media at the dharna site, senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik said the triple train accident that claimed hundreds of lives took place due to negligence of the Railway officials. The Railway Minister is accountable for the tragedy and should step down on moral grounds, he added.
The protesting parties also demanded compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job to next of kin of each person who died in the accident. Besides, they wanted a Supreme Court-monitored SIT probe into the accident.
On the other hand, the BJP said the Centre took prompt action after the accident. Prime Minister himself visited the spot and the CBI was handed over the investigation. The Railways has also paid compensation to the families of the victims.
“The CBI has already detained some suspects and was questioning some Railway officials also. The Opposition parties should understand the sensitivity of the situation and contribute to alleviate the agony of the families who lost their near and dear ones in the tragedy instead of indulging in politics,” said Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal.
