Kolkata: Even as the toll in Friday’s horrific triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore continues to rise, politicians have started indulging in their favourite ‘blame game’.
Opposition parties like Trinamool Congress (TMC) have hit out hard at the Central government and demanded the resignation of Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“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!” TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee wrote on Facebook.
Abhishek alleged that the Centre was spending crores of rupees on software to spy on Opposition leaders while neglecting the installation of anti-collision devices in trains to prevent such accidents.
He further said that the Narendra Modi government has been boasting of Vande Bharat trains and newly-constructed railway stations to bolster political support by ‘misleading’ the public, but neglecting passengers’ safety measures.
TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale echoed Abhishek’s views.
“My fervent prayers for those affected & their families… That an alleged signalling failure led to 3 trains crashing is shocking beyond belief. There are serious questions which need answering,” Saket tweeted.
Around 300 people have been killed, and more than 900 others have been injured in the crash involving the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, a goods train and the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express.
It remains to be seen if Vaishnaw quits owning responsibility. But there have been instances of Railway ministers putting in their papers after major train accidents.
Check the list:
Lal Bahadur Shastri: He took moral responsibility for the Ariyalur train accident in Tamil Nadu, in which 142 people lost their lives in November 1956. His gesture earned praise from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Shastri was later handed other important ministerial roles like Home ministry (1961-63) and eventually became Prime Minister (1964-66).
Nitish Kumar: The current Bihar chief minister resigned as India’s Railway minister In August 1999, following the Gaisal train accident in Assam, which led to 290 deaths.
Mamata Banerjee: The incumbent West Bengal CM resigned as Railway minister following two train mishaps in the year 2000. However, then-PM Atal Bihar Vajpayee rejected her resignation.
