‘Procession of deaths’, Mamata asks if there will be an end to Centre’s negligence
Kolkata: Calling the railway accidents “disastrous” and an “unending procession of deaths”, Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday criticised the BJP-led Central government for Tuesday’s accident that occurred in Jharkhand, questioning whether there will be an end to the Centre’s negligence.
“I seriously ask: is this governance? This series of nightmares almost every week, this unending procession of deaths and injuries on railway tracks: for how long shall we tolerate this? Will there be no end to the callousness of the Government of India?!” Banerjee asked in her post on X.
Banerjee also expressed her condolences to the family members of the deceased. “My heart goes out to the bereaved families, condolences to the next of kin,” Banerjee said. In her social media post, Banerjee further stated: “Another disastrous rail accident! Howrah- Mumbai mail derails in Chakradharpur division in Jharkhand early Tuesday morning, multiple deaths and huge number of injuries are the tragic consequences.” After 18 out of 22 coaches of the Howrah CSMT Mumbai Mail derailed early on Tuesday in Jharkhand, killing at least two people and injuring many others, several leaders from INDIA bloc echoed the voice of Trinamool Congress supremo criticised Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Central Government over the train accidents that claimed several lives in the last few months.
The ruling party in Bengal — Trinamool Congress labelled the train accidents as the “new normal” under the BJP-led Government at the Centre and accused the railway ministry of zero accountability. “The GOI has no answers whatsoever,” Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev wrote on X. The party’s another Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose wondered how many more train accidents would it take for the Centre to wake up from its “slumber”.
Taking a jibe at the railways minister, Ghose said, “We have a part-time Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who is too busy looking after election management in poll-bound states to bother too much with the railway ministry.”
Besides the Trinamool Congress, other INDIA bloc alliance leaders also slammed the Union Railway minister and the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre for the accident. “It seems that the government wants to make a record in every field. A record is also going to be set in the number of paper leaks. Despite the government’s claims of safety and security and a big budget, why are accidents happening?” asked Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Jharkhand’s ruling JMM took a jibe at the Centre. “Hemant Soren Ji or INDIA Bloc has no hand in this. Do not give threats to get us trapped by ED/CBI,” the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha wrote in a social media post.
The train accident occurred at 3.45 am near Barabamboo station in Chakradharpur division. Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose also extended condolences to the families of the deceased in an X post made by Raj Bhavan media cell. “HG has expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes fast recovery of those injured in the Howrah-CSMT Express train derailment near Jharkhand’s Chakradharpur today,” reads the post shared by the Raj Bhavan.
