Odisha Train Crash: Congress Demands Railway Minister’s Resignation, Steps To Make CRS Probe Report Public

Bhubaneswar: Mounting a scathing attack on Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the horrific triple-train crash in Odisha that claimed the lives of 293 people, Congress on Saturday demanded his resignation and sought steps to make public the report of CRS probe into the mishap.

Addressing a press met in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Congress spokesperson Sudarshan Das hit out at the Railways Minister over non-disclosure of the report by Commission on Railways Safety (CRS) which probed the accident that took place at Bahanaga in Balasore district on June 2.

Though the CRS has submitted the report to the government on June 28, it has not been made public till date, he said. The CRS has suggested in its report that cause of the accident is human error as the officials on duty failed to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP), he claimed.

Das accused the Railways Minister of deliberately not making the report public to save himself. The minister is morally responsible for the accident and hence should resign, the Congress leader added. Other Congress leaders including Rashmi Mahapatra also joined Das in demanding the resignation.