Congress demands Vaishnaw’s resignation, says Railways destroyed

New Delhi: Accusing the government of “destroying” Indian Railways, the Congress on Tuesday demanded Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s resignation in the wake of the Kanchanjunga Express accident, saying he has no moral right to remain in the position. The Opposition party also took a swipe at Vaishnaw for reaching the accident site riding pillion on a motorcycle, asking whether he is a rail minister or a “reel minister”. The Congress alleged that “criminal negligence” perpetrated by Modi government had “doomed the Railways”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said whenever there is a train accident, Modi government’s Railways minister reaches the spot under the glare of cameras and behaves as if everything is fine.

“Narendra Modi ji, tell us who should be held accountable, the Railways minister or you?” the Congress chief asked.

Kharge posed seven questions to the government and demanded answers.

After a major accident like Balasore, why was not even a single kilometer of the much-hyped “Kavach” anti-train collision system added, he asked.

“Why are nearly 3 lakh posts vacant in the Railways, why were they not filled in the last 10 years? According to the NCRB (2022) report, 1,00,000 people have died in rail accidents between 2017 and 2021 alone! Who will take responsibility for this?” the Congress chief asked.

The Railway Board itself has admitted that the long working hours of loco pilots due to acute shortage of manpower are the main reason for the increasing number of accidents, he said and asked why were the posts not filled. “In its 323rd report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee had criticised the Railways for the ‘neglect’ shown by the Railway Board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS). It was underlined that the CRS investigates only 8 per cent-10 per cent of accidents, why was the CRS not strengthened?” Kharge asked.

According to the CAG, why was 75 per cent funding reduced in the ‘Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh’ (RRSK), while Rs 20,000 crore was to be made available every year, he asked.

Why is this money being used by railway officials on unnecessary expenses and comfort facilities, Kharge further asked. “Why has travelling by train in the common Sleeper Class become very expensive? Why has the number of Sleeper Coaches been reduced? The Railways minister recently said to use police force against the people ‘overcrowding’ rail coaches. But does he not know that 2.7 crore people had to cancel their tickets last year due to abysmal shortage of seats -- a direct result of Modi government’s policy to reduce coaches?” Kharge said.