Balasore train accident result of government's misplaced priorities claims Congress

The Congress on Wednesday accused the government of indulging in headlines management, and said the "sabotage theory" floated by the Railways in the Balasore train tragedy was to "escape accountability".

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said while inauguration of Vande Bharat trains continue, the Balasore train tragedy was caused by "misplaced priorities".

His remarks came after a high-level inquiry found "wrong signalling" to be the main reason for the accident involving three trains in Balasore and flagged "lapses at multiple levels" in the signalling and telecommunication (S&T) department, but indicated that the tragedy could have been averted if past red flags were reported.

"It is clear that the sabotage theory floated by the prime minister and Railway Minister is to escape accountability and manage the headlines. The Commissioner of Rail Safety has concluded that severe shortcomings in procedures and systems relating to rail safety resulted in the Balasore train disaster," Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter.

"But who is listening? Inaugurations of Vande Bharat trains continue... a horrific tragedy caused by misplaced priorities of the Modi government," he said.

Citing a media report, he said the main findings of the inquiry into the reasons behind the triple train collision that led to the loss of almost 300 lives and leaving more than 100 injured are: "An undetected fault in the wiring in the location box that had not been noticed by Signal and Telecom (S&T) staff in the past five years. The first level of failure was in the wrong labelling of circuits. The second level was in failing to check if the circuits worked."

The Balasore accident involving the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express from Shalimar, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a stationary goods train took place near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station on June 2, leaving 292 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.