Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Odisha train tragedy in which at least 288 people have been killed so far and over 900 injured. He also demanded a white paper on anti-collision devices (ACDs) installed in trains.
Banerjee attacked the Narendra Modi government at the Centre saying that it often boasts of digital India but in reality, people die in railway accidents as there was no anti-collision device. “The Prime Minister often speaks of ‘Digital India’ but the anti-collision system was neglected. Had this system been in place, such a mishap could have been avoided. A separate commission should be set up to investigate the matter,” he said.
“The passengers generally remain in the lower berths during the evening hours. The middle and upper berths are generally occupied from 8.30 pm onwards. Had the accident occurred at that time, the death figure could have crossed even 1,000,” he said.
He held the BJP government responsible for the incident.
“Digital India has become ‘Disaster India’ for the people. On behalf of the party, we will provide a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of deceased victims from Bengal. When the three trains collided with one another, multiple coaches were shattered on impact. After the incident, Railways did not issue proper guidance or immediate directives. The passengers from the other coaches, who returned to Kolkata, said that 4-5 Railway officials were helping with rescue operations at the initial stage,” Banerjee said.
He further stated: “Somebody has to take responsibility for the death of these people who died due to no fault of their own. When Mamata Banerjee was serving as the Union Railway Minister, she allocated funds for anti-collision devices (ACD) to ensure that these are installed in trains to avoid such accidents. The Central government should publish a white paper on the funds utilised for installing ACD’s in trains which are used by crores of Indians. The PM and the Central government cannot absolve themselves from being held accountable.”
He also demanded a high-level commission to probe the incident. “A high-level commission should be constituted to investigate what caused the accident and ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated.”
Keeping this devastating incident in mind, he cancelled all the programmes and activities under the Trinamool-e Nabajowar campaign on Saturday.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on Saturday published an audio clip containing the conversation of two senior railway officials apparently revealing that the ill-fated Shalimar to Chennai-bound Coromandel Express was supposed to enter the main line as the green signal was flashing but it was allowed to enter the loop line where there was a freight train. Ghosh said that he received the audio clip but it was not verified.