Rahul Gandhi in US: Congress leader attacks PM Modi, BJP and RSS over Odisha train tragedy

Ex-parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi has continued his attacks on the ruling BJP government in India during his USA visit. On Sunday, the Congress leader hit out at the BJP over the recent Odisha triple-train accident saying the saffron party always looks back and passes the blame.

"You ask them (BJP) anything, they will look back and pass the blame. Ask them why the train accident (in Odisha) took place, and they (BJP) will say Congress did this 50 years ago," said Gandhi while addressing the Indian diaspora in New York.

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"Their immediate response ispeeche dekho(look in history)."

Gandhi cited an example of a previous train accident that occurred during Congress' tenure and said the then minister (without naming him/her) resigned from the post.

"I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say 'Now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed'. The Congress minister said 'It's my responsibility and I'm resigning'. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with,"

The Congress leader who was ripped off his parliamentarian tag by an Indian court, trained his guns on PM Modi and said he was attempting to drive India forward by looking in the rear-view mirror.

"He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is trying to drive the car...the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it's the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them. You listen to the ministers, you listen to the prime minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past."

WATCH | Odisha Train Tragedy | Railway Minister: Root cause of the incident identified

What happened in Odisha?

A collision between two passenger trains and a goods train in the eastern Indian state of Odisha's Balasore over the weekend resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 275 individuals, with approximately 900 others sustaining injuries.

The Howrah Superfast Express derailed and became entangled with the Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway authorities said. A goods train too was part of the massive collision, making it one of the deadliest train accidents India has ever witnessed.

According to media reports citing sources, the Indian Railways is investigating the possibility of a signalling error as the prima facie cause of the train derailment.

PM Modi visited the accident site and vowed to find the guilty parties and take stringent punishment against them.

"It's a painful incident. Govt will leave no stone unturned for the treatment of those injured. It's a serious incident, instructions issued for probe from every angle. Those found guilty will be punished stringently. Railway is working towards track restoration. I met the injured victims," said PM Modi.

(With inputs from agencies)

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