Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government over Odisha train accident and said ask the saffron party anything, they will look back and pass the blame. Ask them how the Odisha train accident happened and they will talk about what the Congress did 50 years ago. "You ask them (BJP) anything, they will look back and pass the blame. Ask them how the Odisha train accident happened. They will talk about what the Congress did 50 years ago," the Congress leader said, as quoted by the news agency ANI.
While addressing the Indian diaspora in New York on Sunday, the Congress leader said that the only ideology that BJP espouses is to make excuses not accept the reality. It is pertinent to mention that Rahul Gandhi is currently on a six-day tour of the United States spanning across three cities.
The triple train accident involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar station in the Balasore district of Odisha. The horrific collision and derailment claimed the lives of 275 passengers and left over 1,000 injured.
During his address, the former Waynad MP said that in the wake of a similar train tragedy when the Congress was in power at the Centre, the then minister in charge of the Railways had owned moral responsibility and resigned.
"I remember a train accident when the Congress party was in power. The Congress did not say that the train crashed because of the fault of the British. The Congress minister (in charge of the Railways ministry at the time) said, 'It's my responsibility and I'm resigning'. So, this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and do not accept the reality," the Congress leader said, as quoted by ANI.
The former Congress president arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday and concluded his visit to Washington on Friday. During his visit, Rahul Gandhi had a series of meetings with the think-tank community, academicians, eminent Indian-Americans and the media. He also discussed the importance of the India-US relationship during cordial meetings with officials from the White House and the Biden administration, news agency PTI reported quoting his close aide.
Notably, speaking at the Stanford University earlier this week, Rahul Gandhi, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, the government could do nothing despite having the “force” with them. “While we were walking in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, we had no force; the force was on the other side. The BJP had the police, institutions, media, and social media,” he said.
Hitting out at the government, the Congress leader said, “All the force at the disposal of the Modi government could do nothing. The more they tried to apply force, the less it worked. Power comes when you get close to the truth. They have the force, but they don't have power.”
Replying to a series of questions during an interaction with the media at the National Press Club in Washington, he also said that there is a hidden undercurrent building that will "surprise" the people in the next general elections in 2024. "I think the Congress party will do very well in the next two years. I think it will,” said the 52-year-old former Congress president. "I think there is a hidden undercurrent building…I think (the outcome) will surprise people,” he added.