Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Arun Jaitley in Delhi. (file photo/Express Photo by Anil Sharma)
With Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu offering to step down owing moral responsibility for the recent train accidents, his Cabinet colleague Arun Jaitley said “accountability is a good system in the government”.
Jaitley has, however, added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a decision on the matter. “Prime Minister will take a decision on whatever request the railway minister has made,” Jaitley told reporters at a press conference.
Earlier today, Prabhu said he met PM Modi and took full responsibility for the recent railway derailments in Uttar Pradesh. In a series of tweets, Prabhu said he was “extremely pained by the unfortunate accidents, injuries to passengers and loss of precious lives”.
Defending his tenure as Railway Minister, Prabhu said he inherited an ailing system and tried to overcome two decades of neglect through “systemic reforms”. “In less than three years as Minister, I have devoted my blood and sweat for the betterment of the Railways,” he wrote on Twitter.
“New India envisioned by PM deserves a Rlys which is efficient and modern. I promise that is the path, on which Rlys is progressing now (SIC),” he added.
In the last four days, the Railways was hit with back-to-back derailments in which over 20 passengers were killed and hundreds injured. Railway Board Chairman AK Mital has also offered to step down immediately after the Kaifiyat Express derailed. It isn’t still clear whether Prabhu accepted his resignation. In July, just before his retirement, Mital’s tenure was extended by two years, making him the first Railway Board chairman in history to have his term extended.
