After Mumbai-Howrah train derailment, opposition targets minister Ashwini Vaishnaw; TMC calls rail accidents under BJP government ‘new normal’ | News from India

CV Ananda Bose, Governor of neighbouring West Bengal, conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased in an X-post from Raj Bhavan.

The ruling JMM in Jharkhand took a swipe at the central government. “Hemant Soren Ji or the INDIA Bloc have no business here. Don’t threaten to trap us in ED/CBI,” the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha wrote in a social media post. Referring to BJP state president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, the post added, “The entire responsibility for this (train accident) lies with your Railway Minister and the Central Government. Stop the Railway Minister from speculating and ask him to focus on the railways.”

The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal called train accidents the “new normal” under the BJP-led government and accused the Railway Ministry of no responsibility. “The Indian government has no answers at all,” TMC leader and MP Sushmita Dev wrote on X.

Her party colleague and MP Sagarika Ghose wondered how many more train accidents it would take for the central government to wake up from its “slumber”. She took a swipe at the railway minister and said: “We have a part-time railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is too busy administering elections in the voting states to care much about the railway ministry.”

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee described the rail accidents as “catastrophic” and “a series of nightmares”. “I ask seriously: is this governance? This never-ending series of deaths and injuries on the tracks. How long are we going to tolerate this? Will the callousness of the Indian government never end?!” she said.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh also attacked the Railway Minister. “Yet another railway accident. But the fail minister’s PR machine keeps running,” he wrote on X. “In June and July 2024 alone, the fail minister was responsible for three accidents that claimed the lives of a total of 17 Indians and injured hundreds.”

Congress Party’s media and publicity chief Pawan Khera called train accidents a “new reality in Modi’s India” and dismissed Vaishnaw’s visit to the accident site as a PR stunt.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the central government. “It seems that the government wants to set a record in every field. They also want to set a record in the number of leaked documents. Why are accidents happening when the government promises security and a big budget?” he asked reporters.

Shiv Sena MP (UBT) Priyanka Chaturvedi said it was “shameful” that such accidents were happening. “They are not allowing any discussion in Parliament… They are not providing any facilities to the public… Safety and security are being thrown overboard,” she said.

Congressman Manickam Tagore said Vaishnaw would be remembered as the “Railway Accidents Minister”.

Another Congress leader, Allahabad MP Ujjwal Raman Singh, called on the Railway Minister to resign.

The Railways has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 crore to the kin of each deceased, Rs 5 crore for those seriously injured and Rs 1 crore for those slightly injured, Chakradharpur Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Aditya Kumar Choudhary told PTI.

According to the railway’s PR chief, rescue and relief operations have been completed.