NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the Prime Minister should immediately seek the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the tragic train accident in Odisha’s Balasore in which 275 people died and 1,000 people were injured.
The Congress leader stepped up the attack at the Central government stating that till now, no accountability has been fixed even after 270+ deaths”. “No accountability even after 270+ deaths! The Modi government cannot run away from taking responsibility for such a painful accident. The Prime Minister should immediately seek the resignation of the Railway Minister!” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh also demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s resignation in the wake of the triple train tragedy in Odisha. Singh expressed grief over the tragedy that took place on Friday evening and involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in the Balasore district of Odisha.
“When Railways Minister repeatedly says that our system is foolproof and any severe accident cannot happen, then how this happened? He (Ashwini Vaishnaw) is an ex-IAS officer of Odisha cadre, where this tragedy has taken place. There is an example where in such a train accident, Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned from his post”, Digvijaya Singh told reporters on Saturday.
“We don’t expect this from PM Modi’s cabinet, but if he (Ashwini Vaishnaw) has a little bit of shame, he should resign”, the Congress leader said.
On Saturday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday hit out at Union Railways Minister saying that “he should tender his resignation”. “The entire nation is saddened by the incident. Do they have morality or not…BJP which speaks about morality then he should resign”, Baghel said.
Without taking anyone’s name, he said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) always speaks about responsibility, therefore he (referring to the Railway minister) should tender his resignation after this major train accident.”
He further added that the railway minister had claimed that Railways have adopted a modern technique according to which if another train comes on the track that it gets stopped before 400 metres. “But three trains collided here (in Odisha), in his state”, he remarked.
“Our Railway Minister comes from Odisha and, if such a big incident took place in his state, then definitely it is his responsibility and it would be seen whether he will fulfil his responsibility or not,” Baghel said. Expressing anguish over the incident, Baghel condoled the loss of lives in the crash and wished for the early recovery of the injured. (ANI)