‘Nightmares every week, is this governance?’ Oppn targets govt over series of rail accidents

NEW DELHI: The opposition parties, including Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Trinamool Congress, criticized the BJP-led central government on Tuesday for the recent spate of railway accidents, accusing the railway ministry of lacking accountability.
In the early hours of Tuesday, at least 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed near Barabamboo in Jharkhand’s Seraikela-Kharsawan district, resulting in the death of two persons and injuries to 20 others.The accident occurred at 3.45am, approximately 80 km from Jamshedpur, under the jurisdiction of the South Eastern Railway’s Chakradharpur Division.
PR machine of the ‘Fail Minister’ continues: Congress
The Congress party slammed railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and reffered to him as the “fail minister”
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, “Yet another railway accident. But the PR machine of the Fail Minister continues.”
“In June and July 2024 alone, the Fail Minister has overseen three accidents that have cumulatively cost 17 Indians their lives and left 100s injured,” he said, hitting out at Vaishnaw.
Congress leader Pawan Khera highlighted the frequency of train accidents in Modi’s New India, referring to them as “a weekly reality.”
“July 18: Train accident in Gonda, UP: Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express: 4 killed, 31 injured. July 19: Goods train derailed in Valsad, Gujarat. July 20: 12 wagons of a freight train derailed in Amroha, UP. July 21: 3 wagons of a goods train derailed in Alwar, Rajasthan. July 21: Goods train derailed in Ranaghat, West Bengal. July 26: Goods train derailed at Bhubaneswar Railway Station, Orissa. July 29: Bihar Sampark Kranti Express detached from other coaches in Samastipur, Bihar. July 30: Several coaches of the Howrah-CSMT Express train derailed in Chakradharpur, Jharkhand: 2 killed, 20 injured,” he said.
Nightmares every week, says Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her concern over the “disastrous” Howrah-Mumbai Mail train accident and questioned the central government’s governance.
“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 Government of India?!” Banerjee said.
“My heart goes out to the bereaved families, condolences to the next of kin,” she said.
People thank God when a day passes without any train accident: RJD MP Manoj Jha
RJD MP Manoj Jha pointed out the irony of people thanking God when a day passes without any train accidents. He questioned the progress of the ‘Kavach’ safety system, which was prominently mentioned in the previous Budget but was not even discussed this time.
“People thank God when a day passes without any train accident. Tall claims were made regarding ‘Kavach’ in the last Budget. This time, it was not even mentioned. I would like to ask how much distance has been covered under ‘Kavach’ cover or was that just for media management? I think Government is not bothered even after such accidents,” Jha said.
‘Seems that government wants to make a record in every field’: Akhilesh Yadav
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav questioned the effectiveness of the government’s safety and security claims and the allocation of a substantial Budget in light of the recurring accidents.
“It seems that the government wants to make a record in every field. A record is also going to be made of the number of paper leaks. Despite the govt’s claims of safety and security and a big budget, why are accidents happening?…Some time ago, India participated in COP29 & G20 was also held…Uttarakhand has also seen landslides. The government should tell what it is doing to tackle such incidents,” Akhilesh said.
Minister for Railways has some ‘Kavach’ for sure, says Aaditya Thackeray
Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray questioned the lack of action taken against the railway minister, despite the recurring incidents.
“I don’t know about the trains, but the minister for Railways has some “Kavach” for sure, because of which he hasn’t been sacked even after so many rail accidents in his tenure. Every week we see some accidents, and there’s no action taken. Instead, the Minister has been made the ‘political in- charge’ of bjp Maharashtra for the elections. Shouldn’t he be focusing on the Ministry?” Shiv Aaditya Thackeray said in a post on X.
The Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailment is the latest in a series of rail accidents that have occurred in the past year, with the most recent major incident being the Kanchenjunga Express derailment in Darjeeling, West Bengal, in June 2024, which claimed the lives of more than 15 people and left dozens injured.