He said Prime Minister Modi is trying to drive the car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. He said Prime Minister Modi is trying to drive the car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. He said Prime Minister Modi is trying to drive the car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Rahul Gandhi on Odisha train accident: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the deadly train crash in Odisha’s Balasore involving two passenger trains and a goods train that claimed at least 275 lives since Friday evening.
He said Prime Minister Modi is trying to drive the car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Gandhi further said Modi has no idea why the car is crashing and not moving forward. Rahul Gandhi was addressing the Indian diaspora in the Javits Centre in New York. The audience observed a 60-second silence for those who died in the Odisha triple train accident.
Gandhi said on PM Modi and the BJP government: "He is trying to drive the car...the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it's the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them. You listen to the ministers, you listen to the prime minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past".
He further noted the Central government would soon blame the Congress’ past for the disastrous train collision. The Congress leader said: “Ask them why the train accident (in Odisha) took place, and they (BJP) will say Congress did this 50 years ago”. Gandhi further said: “Their immediate response is peeche dekho (look in history)”.
Odisha triple train tragedy
The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train took place at around 7 pm on June 2 near the Bahanga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express were carrying over 2,500 passengers at the time of the incident. At least 275 people lost their lives and over 1,100 have been injured in the accident.
Demands for Ashwini Vaishnaw’s resignation
Hinting at the demand of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s resignation over the Balasore incident, Rahul Gandhi talked about a train accident when the Congress was in power. Gandhi noted the minister in question took responsibility for the incident and resigned instead of blaming the British for the rail accident.
"I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say 'now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed'. The Congress minister said 'it's my responsibility and I'm resigning'. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with," Gandhi said, without naming the Congress minister.
There has been a demand for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw from various quarters. Congress alleged in a presser that Vaishnaw’s “PR gimmicks” overshadowed the “serious defeciences, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security” of Indian Railways.
Citing instances of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Nitish Kumar and Madhav Rao Scindia’s resignations, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said at presser: “Resigning means taking moral responsibility. Neither responsibility nor morality is visible in this government. Prime Minister, this country expects that the way Lal Bahadur Shastri ji, Nitish Kumar ji, Madhav Rao Scindia ji had resigned… in the same way you also take the resignation of your Railway Minister”.
Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil was also present at the presser. Congress’ Pawan Khera and Shaktisinh Gohil also questioned the government’s alleged lackadaisical spending on safety of Indian Railways despite reports from multiple agencies.
They said: “We demand that despite multiple warnings by the CAG, Parliamentary Standing Committees and experts- why did the Modi government not spend on sprucing up Railway safety?”
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digivijaya Singh demanded Vaishnaw’s resignation.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy tweeted that the Railways Minister should resign without waiting for PM Modi’s approval. He also said that Modi is “world famous for recruiting incompetent, or competent but inappropriate, spineless chelas as ministers”.
Swamy tweeted: “Now we know: The fast train that flew off the tracks to an oncoming train was never to be allowed on those tracks since the tracks were meant for a slower train. Thus Rail Mantri must resign without waiting for a nod from the PM. Of course Modi is world famous for recruiting incompetent, or competent but inappropriate spineless chelas as Ministers. He is paying a price. Manipur is another example of incompetent but loyal chela as head”.
Former Madhya Pradesh CM Digivijaya Singh questioned how did such an accident take place when the Railways Minister repeatedly says the system is fool-proof. Citing late Lal Bahadur Shastri’s resignation as the Railways Minister, Singh said: “There is an example where in such a train accident, Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned from his post." "We don't expect this from PM Modi's cabinet, but if he (Ashwini Vaishnaw) has a little bit of shame, he should resign”.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel said that Ashwini Vaishnaw should resign for the dastardly incident. Baghel further noted that the minister claimed railways adopted a modern technique according to which if another train comes on track, it gets stopped before 400 metres. Former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan said Ashwini Vaishnaw should offer voluntary resignation and follow in Lal Bahadur Shastri’s footsteps.
When asked about demands for his resignation, Vaishnaw said this is the time to focus on making sure the complete restoration happens at the earliest possible. He said: “It is absolutely fine. This is the time to fully focus on making sure that the complete restoration happens in the earliest possible time”.