‘There was no anti-collision device…’: Mamata Banerjee’s big claim on Odisha train accident

The Trinamool Congress on Saturday criticized the BJP-led government at the Center over the train accident in Odisha, accusing it of neglecting the safety of passengers. It added that the Center cannot escape responsibility for the tragedy, in which 261 passengers have died and nearly 1,000 have been injured. Stung by the criticism, the BJP urged the TMC to refrain from playing politics over the tragic incident. Indian Railways has ordered a high-level inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who visited the accident site on Saturday afternoon, claimed that the Railway Ministry was being neglected.

“The anti-collision device which I had decided to install during my tenure as Railway Minister is not in place,” he said. Banerjee served as Railways Minister twice – during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime and Manmohan Singh’s prime ministership from 2009 to 2011. At least 261 people were killed and nearly 1,000 were injured in the Friday night accident, which is one of the country’s worst rail accidents. TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee created a ruckus on Friday night soon after three trains derailed at Bahanagar Bazar station and demanded the immediate resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav.

He alleged that the Center spends crores of rupees on software to spy on opposition leaders but neglects to install anti-collision devices in trains to prevent rail accidents. Banerjee said the Narendra Modi government at the Center boasts of semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains and newly-built railway stations to garner political support by “misleading the public”, but is being negligent about safety measures. Is. “What has the Ministry of Railways done in the last nine years (since Modi took over as prime minister)? The prime minister talks about Vande Bharat trains. Is this an example of passenger safety? Whose responsibility is it?” The Center cannot escape its responsibility,” he told reporters in Howrah. He alleged that most of the railway projects were being inaugurated without completing them.

“Whenever a new train is being inaugurated, the PM is there for the inaugural event. Then why won’t he take responsibility for the incident? Why won’t the Railway Minister take responsibility and resign? This double standard should stop, ” They said. Said. The Center is spending crores of rupees on the Central Vista project and the official jet for the Prime Minister. “But why is there such apathy towards passenger safety?” He asked. Echoing him, TMC Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O’Brien tweeted, “Saddened as we mourn the dead, offer a silent prayer for the families of the 300 victims and wish the injured a speedy recovery”. He said that on May 25, the prime minister made an idle (political) boast about how ‘the real work to transform the railways started only after 2014’ (when Modi took office). TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also said the central government “cannot escape responsibility”.

“The Center will have to answer for this tragedy. It should answer questions related to the safety of passengers,” he said. Urging the TMC to refrain from doing politics over the train accident, BJP’s Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar said, “this is not the time to do politics over the tragic incident”. “So many people have died. This is the time to mourn those who have lost their lives and extend all possible help to the injured,” he said.