NEW DELHI: In his first statement in Parliament after assuming office, new Railway Minister Mukul Roy blamed the van driver for the accident in Uttar Pradesh that killed 16 people, an incident that ruined his oath-taking day. “As per preliminary information, the incident occurred due to negligent driving by the driver of the mini-van. The driver did not stop his van at the stop-board short of the level-crossing to check for the approaching train as prescribed,” Roy said in a suo motu statement in Lok Sabha. He announced compensation of `2 lakh for the kin of the deceased and said that medical relief was immediately despatched from Kasganj through an accident relief train. One may recall that in July last year when Roy was Minister of State for Railways, he had refused to visit the accident site of the Guwahati-Puri train derailment even after the PM had asked him to do so.