'They Destroyed Railways': Lalu Yadav After Odisha Train Accident

Former Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday called for a high-level inquiry into the train crash in Odisha's Balasore in which at least 288 people were killed in the incident involving three trains.

"The manner in which they showed negligence and didn't show alertness led to such a large number of casualties," Yadav said. "There should be a high-level inquiry and action should be taken against those responsible for it...There was major negligence. They have destroyed Railways," the RJD chief added.

The train crash in Odisha on Friday, involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train is one of the deadliest accidents since independence, according to data.

On the other hand, Opposition leaders on Saturday stressed the importance of prioritising the safety of passengers by railways, while there were also demands to fix accountability and for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

In a statement, Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, "At this moment of a grave national tragedy on account of the terrible train disaster in Odisha, I have instructed the entire Congress party organisation to extend all possible help."

"We have many questions to ask of the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister but those can wait since the immediate task is of rescue and relief," Kharge said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is a former Railway Minister twice and flew to the accident site on Saturday afternoon, demanded a proper investigation. "This is the biggest train accident of this century and a proper investigation must be conducted," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief told reporters. "Something must be behind this. The truth must come out. Why didn't the anti-collision system work?" Banerjee said

CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya too raised the same question. "Do we no longer have any signalling and safety system in Indian railways? Or will such terrible tragedies become the new normal for rail travel in India? We owe an answer to the victims and to the families who lost their near and dear ones in this mishap," he said in a tweet.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday demanded an inquiry into the three-train accident. Asked about demands for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on moral grounds post the tragedy, Pawar cited the example of then railway minister Lal Bahadur Shastri resigning after a train accident and asked "those in power" to do what is "appropriate".