Modi government’s incompetence, only high decibel PR: Congress

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and said the Odisha train tragedy was "man-made" devastation caused by "utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, a narcissistic sense of 'know it all' attitude by the Modi government clubbed with high decibel PR that has "exposed the hollowness at every level of railway governance".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera along with Shaktisinh Gohil said, "India is in deep shock after the country's most catastrophic train accident. Odisha's triple train tragedy has resulted in the loss of precious lives, over 1000 injured."

He said that the Congress expresses its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. "As a responsible political party, we are providing all possible help and assistance to the victims. Our leaders went to the ground on the very night of the accident. Our frontal organisations are providing all possible help. Our state governments have also provided requisite assistance," Khera said.

Hitting out at the government, the Congress leader said, "This is not a natural calamity. This is man-made devastation caused by utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know it all attitude by the Modi government, clubbed with high decibel PR which exposed the hollowness at every level of railway governance."

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has announced that guilty would be punished, must first start with his Railway Minister. "Unequivocally and unambiguously - we demand the resignation of Railway Minister Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it," Khera said, making clear the stand of the party. He said that the Congress has numerous concrete reasons to demand accountability by the Modi government, citing several reports flagged by the railways and the CAG.

The Congress leader accused the government of criminal neglect of 'signalling system', despite multiple warnings. Citing example, he said, "On February 9 this year, the Principal Chief Operating manager of South Western Railway zone raised concerns of signal failure of an express train with the subject 'serious unsafe incident happened at Hosadurga Road station of Birur-Chikjajur section of Mysore division on February 8 this year involving Train number 12649 Sampark Kranti Express, leading to condition for averted head-on collision with a down goods train."

He also showed the report for the same. Khera said the incident indicates that "there are serious flaws in the system where the route of dispatch gets altered after a train starts on signals with correct appearance of route in the SMS panel. "This contravenes the essence and basic principles of interlocking," he said.

Meanwhile, Shaktisinh Gohil cited how the Parliamentary Standing Committee slammed the Railway Board for not following safety procedures. He said that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on transport, tourism and culture in its 323rd report had slammed the railways for the "disregard" shown by the Railway Board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS).

"The CRS is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Standing Committee proposed that the CRS should be an autonomous body separate from both the Railway and Civil Aviation Ministries," he said.

He also said that none of the trains in the Odisha crash were equipped with anti-collision equipment nor was the section covered by the National Automatic Train Protection System or KAVACH. IANS

Also Read: Odisha Train Crash: Root Cause Has Been Found, Claims Railway Minister

Also Watch: