Odisha train crash: RJD's ‘flag off’ jab at PM Modi, Congress says ‘should wait till tomorrow’
At least 238 people were killed and over 900 injured in the crash involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) targeted the Narendra Modi-led central government on Saturday over the horrific triple train crash in Odisha, criticising the merger of the Railways budget with the general budget. Former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's party said there was a time when the country knew the name of the railway minister but now all green flags are shown by only a “narcissistic propaganda minister.”
In a tweet, the RJD said, “Tragic train accident. There was a time when the country knew the name of the Railway Minister. The Railway Budget used to be presented separately. Railways had not been privatised. The youth used to get lakhs of jobs in the railways.”
“Now no one knows the Railway Minister! All the green flags are shown by one and only one narcissistic propaganda minister,” it added, in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging off all Vande Bharat Express trains.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there are many legitimate questions that need to be raised, however, added that it should wait till tomorrow.
“The rail crash in Odisha is truly horrendous. It is a matter of the greatest anguish. It reinforces why SAFETY should always be the foremost priority in the functioning of the rail network. There are many legitimate questions that need to be raised but that should wait till tomorrow,” Ramesh, Congress general-secretary in charge of communications, said in a tweet.
At least 238 people were killed and more than 900 passengers injured after three trains derailed on top of another in a horrific sequence in Odisha's Balasore district. Officials in Bhubaneswar said 200 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile health units were working at the accident site, besides 1,200 personnel.
"Death toll in the Balasore Train Accident has risen to 238," Odisha Chief Secretary PK Jena told newspersons at the Odisha state secretariat in Bhubaneshwar Saturday.