'Rail Safety, Track Renewals Took Backseat': Congress Asks 3 Questions To Modi Govt Over Odisha Tragedy

Congress lashed out at PM Modi over the train crash and said that rail safety and track renewals have taken a backseat, while an obsession with speed has become the priority.

Congress on Sunday lashed out at Prime Mimister Narendra Modi over the train crash in Odisha's Balasore district and said that rail safety and track renewals have taken a backseat, while high-profile inaugurations and an obsession with speed has become the priority. The grand old party released a statement pertaining to the horrific train accident and asked three questions from PM Modi. While interacting with the mediapersons Congress leader Pawan Khera said that Madhavrao Scindia, Nitish Kumar, and Lal Bahadur Shastri gave resignations on moral grounds and Railways Minister should take the responsibility.   

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and said, "Here’s our detailed statement on the Odisha train tragedy. It goes well beyond headline politics to the very core of how rail safety and track renewals have taken a backseat, while high-profile inaugurations and an obsession with speed get priority. It raises 3 fundamental questions."

"We don't look for political scores during human tragedy. Madhavrao Scindia, Nitish Kumar, and Lal Bahadur Shastri gave resignations on moral grounds. Railways Minister should take responsibility but Modi and morals travel in opposite directions," Pawan Khera said, as quoted by ANI. 

The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, alleging that his "PR gimmicks" overshadowed the "serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security" of Indian Railways.

The grand old party also said that PM Modi should accept part of the responsibility of the "mess" which his government has inflicted on the Indian Railways and the people.  Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC's publicity and media department head Pawan Khera alleged that the Odisha rail tragedy was a "man-made devastation caused by "utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government".

PM Modi, who has announced that the guilty would be punished, must first start with his Railway Minister, Khera said.  "Unequivocally and unambiguously we demand the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it," he said.

At the presser, Gohil and Khera posed questions to the government and asked when will PM Modi demand the resignation from his Railway Minister Vaishnaw. They alleged that Vaishnaw's "over the top publicity, theatrics and PR gimmicks overshadowed the serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security of Indian Railways".

"PM Modi, himself is responsible for a green-flagging spree of Vande Bharat Express trains. He himself is responsible for creating this 'all is well' facade in the Indian Railways, even as crucial, sensitive, and critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway languishes in neglect," Gohil and Khera said in their statement.

"We demand that despite multiple warnings by the CAG, Parliamentary Standing Committees, and experts – why did the Modi government not spend on sprucing up Railway Safety?" they said. Who is responsible for the deadliest rail tragedy in independent India, Gohil and Khera asked.

Would only lower or mid-level functionaries bear the brunt of accountability or will the executive who takes all the credit for Vande Bharat trains also be held accountable for this brazen disregard for safety standards, they asked. The Congress leaders also asked when will the Modi government implement the much-hyped Kavach Anti-Collision system nationwide, after testing.

Gohil and Khera asked when will the government pump more funds in the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) and fill up the three lakh plus vacant positions in the Indian Railways.

Earlier in a tweet, Jairam Ramesh said that the party was quiet out of respect. He recalled that former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned in the wake of the Nov 1956 Ariyalur train disaster and Nitish Kumar did so following the ghastly Aug 1999 Gaisal train tragedy.

The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express which was coming at high speed rammed into the coaches of Coromandel Express that had scattered on the adjacent track.

Twenty-one coaches were derailed and severely damaged in the accident, trapping hundreds of passengers. Both passenger trains were at a high speed and it has been cited by experts as one of the main reasons for the high number of casualties, as reported by PTI. Large cranes were deployed to move the wreckage and gas cutters were used to extricate the bodies from the mangled, toppled coaches.

The rescue operation was wrapped up Saturday afternoon and restoration work started. With traffic on the route disrupted, over 150 trains were cancelled, diverted, or short-terminated.