Rahul Gandhi

PM Should Seek Resignation Of Vaishnaw: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the Prime Minister should immediately seek resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the tragic train accident in Odisha’s Balasore in which 275 people died and 1000 people were injured.

The Congress leader stepped up the attack at the Central government stating that till now “no accountability 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.

Digvijay 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 fool-proof 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,” said 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)

Read More: lokmarg.com

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Accident’s Cause, People Responsible Have Been Identified: Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who reviewed the restoration work at the Balasore triple train collision site on Sunday, said that the accident that claimed the lives of 288 passengers happened due to a change in electronic interlocking.

The Balasore train accident where two passenger trains and a goods carriage were involved claimed 288 lives so far while over 1,000 people sustained injuries.
Ashwini Vaishnaw while speaking to ANI said that the commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it.

“The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it… It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking,” Vaishnaw told ANI.

The Railway Minister further added the focus right now is on the restoration and the target is to finish the work by Wednesday morning.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track,” Vaishnaw added.

Earlier on Saturday, the Railways Ministry informed that the restoration work was ongoing at war footing in Odisha’s Balasore.

In a tweet, the Ministry of Railways said that the officials are closely monitoring the restoration process at the accident site.”Restoration work is ongoing at Warfooting at the train accident site in Balasore, Odisha with 1000+ Manpower working tirelessly. At present, more than 7 Poclain Machines, 2 Accident Relief Trains, and 3-4 Railway and Road Cranes have been deployed for early restoration. Officials are closely monitoring the restoration process at the accident site,” read the post on the official Twitter handle of the Railways ministry.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed Mi-17 helicopters for the evacuation of the deceased and injured. According to the Eastern Command, IAF coordinated the rescue efforts with the civil administration and Indian Railways.

The preliminary report on the tragedy said the three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district.

As many as 17 coaches of these two passenger trains were derailed and severely damaged in the accident on Friday evening. (ANI)

Read More: lokmarg.com