Congress demands detailed report on train accidents

New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS) Congress on Monday hit out at the Modi government for the recent spate of train accidents in the country, demanding a detailed report on them and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi "who was responsible for them and what action will be taken against them".

Slamming the government for abject failure on railway safety, the Congress also said Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu should have "resigned on moral grounds", and asked who should be held accountable for these accidents and continuous loss of innocent lives.

"The Narendra Modi government has failed on all fronts. The abject railway safety record is a good barometer of this government's record," said Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar.

"While changing the colours of the bedsheets, surge pricing and Wifi at stations could be cosmetic ideas, the government has miserably failed on the core issue of ensuring safety and security for crores of passengers who travel by train in the length and breadth of this country," he added.

Kumar also said the recent railway accident due to the derailment of Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Express is the third major train accident in the past two months and it was the fifth such accident in the past six months.

At least 39 people were killed and 50 injured when the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express derailed in Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram district, police said on Sunday.

"No reports have been submitted of the past accidents and no accountability was fixed. We want to ask the Prime Minister, who is responsible and what action will be taken?" asked Kumar.

"Even as the enquiry report of the previous Patna-bound Indore-Rajendranagar Express derailment that took place two months back in which at least 146 people lost their lives is awaited, the government has been again caught unaware to deal with a similar accident in Andhra Pradesh," he said.

Congress also said there has been a steady rise in train accidents and casualties in the past three years.

According to the official figures provided in the Rajya Sabha, there were 162 deaths due to accidents in 2014-15, 64 in 2015-16 and 225 in 2016-17 (till date), said the party.