Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The opposition parties were Monday scathing in their criticism of the government over the “political vacuum” in the railway ministry which they blamed for Sunday’s railway accident that claimed at least 69 lives in Uttar Pradesh.

They said there has been no full time railway minister for the past two months and the previous incumbent Mamata Banerjee spent a lot of her time preparing for the West Bengal assembly polls. The opposition parties also accused the government of ignoring the crucial ministry.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari said it proved the government’s non-seriousness on the issue. The Communist Party of India-Marxist, meanwhile, questioned the prime minister on why a railway minister had not been appointed as yet.

“The accident shows that the railway ministry and government is not serious about the safety of railway passengers. If the government does not take immediate steps to ensure the safety of passengers the situation will deteriorate and people will lose faith on the railway,” Gadkari said.

Party spokesperson Jagat Prakash Nadda meanwhile blamed the coalition politics for “spoiling” the railways.

“We are concerned about the state of railways, during the UPA I and UPA II, the railways has become the victim of government’s coalition politics,” Nadda said.

CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said the government was responsible for the accident.

“No one has been given the charge of railways till now, the whole government is responsible for it, but the railway minister is responsible above all,” Yechury told reporters.

“Why hasn’t the prime minister appointed a new railway minister till now. He should tell the nation. People should not be losing their lives because of the government’s inaction. This is serious,” he said.

The accident Sunday involving the HOwrah-Kalka Mail in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh led to at least 69 passengers being killed. In another incident Sunday, over 100 people were injured when the Guwahati-Puri Express derailed due to a suspected bomb blast near Ghograpara in Assam’s Nalbari distict. A few days ago, the Mathura-Chhapra Express hit a bus at an unmanned railway near Etah in Uttar Pradesh leaving 38 bus passengers dead.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP and former railway standing committee chairman Basudeb Acharia held both Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party MP and junior railway minister Mukul roy responsible for the accidents.

“Those at the helm of affairs over the past two years have to take responsibility for the death of innocents. Mukul and Mamata cannot shirk their responsibility.

“When she had the railway portfolio, Mamata Banerjee used to stay in Delhi for only a day every week to go to her department Railway Bhavan. Her only aim was to become West Bengal chief minister. She totally neglected the railways,” he said.

Acharia said under Banerjee and Roy, the posts of 1.20 lakh safety manoeuvring staff of the railways including those of thousands of gangmen were lying vacant. “From station manager, right up to the GM level many slots are vacant. Banerjee has done immense damage to the railways.”

“Now there seems to be a feud in the Trinamool Congress with Mukul Roy not happy over the likely elevation of Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress MP and MoS health and family welfare) as cabinet minister for railways,”