How many more families must be destroyed before govt wakes up: Rahul after TN rail accident
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the Centre over the train accident in Tamil Nadu, saying no lessons have been learnt despite many lives lost in numerous accidents and asked how many more families must be destroyed before the government wakes up.
Gandhi asserted that accountability starts at the top.
An express train, at 75 kmph speed, hit a stationary goods train on Friday in Tamil Nadu as it entered a loop line instead of getting into the main line, railway officials said, adding that a number of passengers were injured and a coach caught fire.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, "The Mysuru-Darbhanga train accident mirrors the horrific Balasore accident–a passenger train colliding with a stationary goods train."
"Despite many lives lost in numerous accidents, no lessons are learned. Accountability starts at the top. How many more families must be destroyed before this government wakes up," the former Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also slammed the Centre over the train accident.
"Train accidents have become so common in the country that despite occurring one after another, neither any accountability is being fixed by the government nor any action is being taken," she said in a post in Hindi on her WhatsApp channel.
"Crores of common people of the country are forced to travel in trains running on the wheels of fear and chaos, risking their lives because the government has turned its back on the responsibility of safe train travel," she said.
Once again, an accident like Balasore has happened with the Mysore-Darbhanga Express in Tamil Nadu, Priyanka Gandhi said.
"When will this series going on for months stop? When will accountability be fixed," she asked.
Meanwhile, the Railway Board has said that no casualty has been reported so far in the passenger-freight train collision in the Ponneri-Kavarapettai section in Chennai Rail Division.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity of the Railway Board, released a video message soon after the accident saying, "We received information of collision of the Bagmati Express with a freight train at the Kavarapettai station in the Chennai Division. Rescue and relief team reached the accident site immediately."
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Ramdas Athawale backs Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM; says Shinde can shift to Centre
New Delhi, Nov 26: RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale, a key BJP ally, on Tuesday called for a quick decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra and suggested that incumbent Eknath Shinde should shift to the Centre as a Union minister.
Addressing a press conference here, Athawale also backed senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, contending that the saffron party won the maximum number of seats in the 288-member Assembly and should have the right to the top executive post in the state.
He said a peculiar situation has arisen in Maharashtra where BJP leaders want Fadnavis as the chief minister, while Shiv Sena leaders want Shinde to continue in the post, citing the good work he has done over the last two and a half years.
Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has declared that he was not in the race for the chief minister.
"We need to resolve this matter, without any further delay. The election results were announced on November 23 and we should have had the oath of the new chief minister on November 26, the Constitution Day," Athawale said.
Backing Fadnavis for the post of chief minister, Athawale said Shinde can become the deputy chief minister or shift to the Centre and join the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Athawale said his RPI(A) has a presence in every part of the state, but unfortunately lost the two seats -- Dharavi and Kalina -- offered to it in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He demanded that an RPI member be made an MLC and a minister in the state government.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections winning 235 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP won 132 seats, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena (57) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP (41). Smaller parties, who are part of the alliance, won five seats.
