BHUBANESWAR: Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhury on Sunday lashed out at the Centre for poor railway infrastructure and maintenance which he said led to the ghastly accident at Bahanaga and demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“The railway minister should follow Lal Bahadur Shastri and Nitish Kumar to keep his prestige intact,” the Congress leader told mediapersons after visiting the mishap site and meeting the injured passengers at Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital at Balasore.
Choudhury said introduction of Vande Bharat Express trains in the country with such poor infrastructure will put the lives of passengers in danger. The former minister of state for railways further said lakhs of passengers travel in trains across the country daily and their safety should be the priority of the Centre.
The Congress leader alleged the Centre is interested in privatising railways by neglecting the security concerns of the passengers. Stating priority should be given to infrastructure development, modernisation and repair works, he targeted the Centre for reducing the provision in the railway depreciation reserve fund which deals with such matters.
Choudhury maintained the signal system and other basic infrastructure have been neglected because of the 1.42 lakh vacancies in the railways. Stating vacancies should be filled up urgently, the Congress leader said the depreciation reserve fund should not be reduced.
The Congress leader also pointed towards mismanagement at the hospital and the place where the bodies were kept. He alleged injured passengers are not getting proper treatment because of large scale vacancies in the post of doctors and para-medical staff.
The Centre is interested in privatising railways by neglecting the security concerns of the passenger
Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha