Calls For Railway Minister’s Resignation: Not The Time For Politics, Says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Balasore: Amid calls for resignation from the Opposition, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday that all efforts should be directed towards restoration work following the horrific triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district.

“This is not the time to do politics, but time to focus on restoration work,” Vaishnaw said at the accident site in Bahanaga Bazar.

Around 290 people have died and over 900 injured after the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express hit a goods train and derailed before the Yewanthpur-Howrah Superfast Express arrived from the opposite end and crashed into the scattered bogies.

Trinamool Congress’ Abhishek Banerjee called for Vaishnaw’s resignation. So did senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

“When Railways Minister repeatedly says that our system is secure and any severe accident cannot happen, then how did this happen? Lal Bahadur Shastri had earlier resigned from his post after a train accident. We don’t expect this from PM Modi’s cabinet, but if he (Ashwini Vaishnaw) has a little bit of shame, he should resign,” said Digvijay.

This afternoon, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee differed on the number of casualties with Vaishnaw when both were at the accident site.

“I have heard the toll could go up to 500,” said Mamata. Vaishnaw, on the other hand, said the casualties figure was 236 according to government data (the number later went up to 288).

Mamata also said that the railway department was being neglected and claimed the “anti-collision device which I had decided to install during my tenure as Railway minister is not in place.”

Vaishnaw, countering Mamata, reiterated: “We want full transparency, this is not time to do politics… this is time to focus on making sure that restoration happens at the earliest.”