Kanchanjunga Express train accident: India Opposition slams Modi govt, asks 7 questions

Indian National Congress (INC) on Tuesday (Jun 18) accused the Narendra Modigovernment of "destroying" Indian Railways and demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation after the Kanchanjunga Express accident that happened in the eastern state of West Bengal. The Opposition said that Vaishnaw has no moral right to remain in the position.

The railway ministry said that seven passengers and two railway staffers were killed and more than 40 were injured when a freight train rammed into a passenger train heading for the state capital of Kolkata from the northeastern state of Tripura.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi: "who should be held accountable, the Railway Minister or you?"

He also posed seven striking questions to the government and demanded answers.

Congress asks seven questions

Kharge asked...

1) After a major tragedy like Balasore, why was not a single kilometre of the much-publicised "Kavach" protection added?

2) Why are nearly 300,000 posts vacant in Railways, why have they not been filled in the last 10 years?

3) According to the NCRB [National Crime Records Bureau] (2022) report, 1,00,000 people have died in rail accidents between 2017 and 2021 alone! Who will take responsibility for this?

The Railway Board itself has recently admitted that long working hours of loco pilots due to acute shortage of manpower are the main reason for the increasing number of accidents. Then why are the posts not being filled?

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4) The Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 323rd report had criticised the railways for the "neglect" shown by the Railway Board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS). It said that the CRS investigates only 8%-10% of accidents, why was the CRS not strengthened?

5) According to CAG [Comptroller and Auditor General], why 75% of the funding in 'Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh' (RRSK) was reduced, while Rs 20,000 Cr was to be provided every year? Why is this money being used by railway officials on unnecessary expenses and luxury facilities?

6) Why has travelling by train in the normal Sleeper Class become very expensive? Why has the number of Sleeper Coaches been reduced?

The Railway Minister recently spoke of using police force against those "overcrowding" train coaches. But doesn't he know that last year 27,000,000 people had to cancel their tickets due to an acute shortage of seats – a direct result of the Modi government's policy of reducing the number of coaches?

7) Did the Modi government merge the Railway Budget with the General Budget in 2017-18 to escape any kind of accountability? The public wants an answer to this!

Congress targets railway minister

The opposition party also took a swipe at Vaishnaw for reaching the accident site and riding a pillion on a motorcycle. The opposition asked whether he is a rail minister or a "reel minister".

"Modi government's railway minister reaches the accident site under the glare of cameras and behaves as if everything is fine," the party said.

#WATCH | West Bengal: Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to shortly visit the Kanchenjunga Express train accident site in Darjeeling district. pic.twitter.com/wmAti3z2MV — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2024

(With inputs from agencies)