Maintaining equanimity, Opposition parties, while expressing their condolences to the families of bereaved and wishing speedy recovery for the injured in the Balasore rail tragedy, largely refrained from attacking the government or the administration. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in a statement here, said that the questions could wait till rescue and relief work was completed.
Mr. Kharge said that he had instructed the entire Congress party organisation to “extend all possible and needed help”. He also said that a number of Congress leaders from different States had either already reached or would soon be reaching the accident site. “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,” Mr. Kharge said.
In Frames | A glimpse of the triple train tragedy in Odisha’s Balasore district
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former MP Rahul Gandhi also expressed their anguish at the tragedy, and extended their condolences to all the bereaved families.
“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,” the party’s general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh, tweeted earlier in the day.
Congress leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel did not follow the same refrain. “Considering how the BJP talks about integrity and morality often, it is but natural that the Rail Minister should immediately resign. After all, he has often spoken about the anti-collision system that would stop such accidents. Here, three trains have collided. It is only natural that he should take responsibility for it,” Mr. Baghel said, answering a question from reporters in Raipur on whether Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw should resign, owning moral responsibility for the accident.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) asked for a “thorough probe” to establish the reasons leading to the accident. “Serious questions on matters concerning railway safety should be the priority which cannot be ignored in the plans for ‘modernization’ by the Modi government,” the Polit Bureau said in a statement.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, shared a clip of Rail Minister Mr. Vaishnaw explaining the anti-collision system deployed in trains. “The false technology of the false government has taken the lives of so many people. Everyone from the minister to the company is responsible for this,” Mr. Yadav tweeted.
Both Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and his Deputy CM and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, expressed anguish at the accident and loss of lives but did not raise questions on the possible lapses that could have led to the accident.
