Railway Minister ‘exposed’, Congress President Malikarjun Kharge to PM Modi on Odisha train accident
1 min read 05 Jun 2023, 12:14 PM ISTCongress President Malikarjun Kharge wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the Union government for its inefficiency that led to Balasore train accident
PremiumCongress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a letter to PM Modi on Monday related to the tragic Balasore train accident. In the letter he said, 'all empty safety claims' of Railway Minister ‘exposed’.
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In his letter, the party president also emphasised the need to install mandatory safety standards, equipment across rail routes for safety.
“Most crucial step is to prioritise the installation of mandatory safety standards, equipment across rail routes to ensure safety," said Malikarjun Kharge in his letter.
Other than calling out the railway minister, the Congress president demanded to bring forth the real reasons that led to the major accident in Odisha. “ Incumbent upon the government to ascertain, bring to light real reasons that caused the grave accident," said Kharge in his letter.
Also Read: 3 days after Balasore accident, goods train derails in Odisha's Bargarh
The President of the grand old party started his letter by questioning the need to merge the Railway budget with that of the Union budget in 2017-18 and asked had the decision had not affected the autonomy and decision-making capacity of the Indian Railways.
Moving ahead, he targeted the union government ignored all concerns related to railway privatisation, and brought trains to stations “under the ambit of brazen privatisation."
“It is apparent that the government's arbitrary decision making including the National Rail Plan for up to 2050 without any consultation or detailed discussion is aimed at exploiting the railways and making it an easy target and fodder to private consumption."
He also questioned the withdrawal of concessions allotted to the elderly, children, and women during the pandemic.
Targeting the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Malikarjun Kharge said, “Railway Minister claims to have already found a root cause of the accident, but still requested the CBI investigation." Later he clarified that “CBI is meant to investigate crimes, not accidents" and said that law enforcement agencies cannot fix accountability for technical, institutional, and political failures.
What happened in the Kanpur derailment case of 2016?
Recalling the train derailment incident in Kanpur that happened in 2016, Malikarjun Kharge said that a total of 150 people lost their lives in the accident. At that time, an NIA investigation was initiated at the request of the Railway Minister. But in 2018, the matter was closed even without a chargesheet, claimed Kharge in his letter.
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