‘Not the time…’: Vaishnaw Railway Minister after dispute with Mamata Banerjee over toll in Odisha train tragedy

Amid opposition calls for his resignation following the tragic three-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday that this is not the right time to go into politics as all efforts should be focused on the restoration work currently being done on the site.

Addressing the media after his verbal duel with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the site of the train crash, Vaishnaw said: “…we want full transparency, this is not the time to do politics, this is the time It’s time to focus on making sure the restoration happens as soon as possible.”

Earlier, while interacting with the media, Mamata, who also visited the accident site, said he received information that the death toll in the train crash could exceed 500.

At this, Vaishaw, who was standing next to her, immediately intervened, saying, “According to the Odisha government data, the death toll is 238.”

In response to the Railway Minister’s reply, the West Bengal CM reiterated the figure, stating that 238 was the Friday night toll. “Rescue work in three buses has not yet been completed, so the number of victims would increase even more,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said that the anti-collision was not installed on the express trains that caused the mishap. He demanded a high level investigation into the accident.

According to the latest official figures, the number of victims in the train tragedy amounts to 294, while more than 1,100 are injured.

In addition to the Trinamool boss, the NCP and Congress also called for the resignation of the Railway Minister following one of the deadliest train accidents in recent history.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Saturday that Vaishnaw must resign on moral grounds after the Odisha train tragedy.

“The entire nation is heartbroken by the accident. The Bharatiya Janata Party talks about morality and decency. So he (Vaishnaw) should resign immediately,” Baghel told reporters at Rajiv Bhavan, the Chhattisgarh Congress venue in Raipur.

Vaishnaw had talked about implementing anti-collision mechanisms to prevent such incidents, but three trains collided and that too in his home state, Baghel added.

The head of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Pawar, also demanded an investigation into the accident of three trains in Balasore and cited the example of the resignation of the then Minister of Railways, Lal Bahadur Shastri, after a train accident and called on “the who were in power” to do the “appropriate” thing.

“It is an accident and everyone has sought an investigation. Let the facts come out and then suggestions can be made,” Pawar told reporters.

Speaking about some parties seeking Vaishnaw’s resignation, the NCP chief said: “When Lal Bahadur Shastri was minister of railways, an accident happened. Then the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru opposed Shastri’s decision to resign, but Shastri believed that resigning was his “moral responsibility on him.”

“This example is known to the nation and those in power should do what they see fit,” Pawar said.