Congress’s 7 questions to Modi govt on Bengal train accident: ‘Who should be…?’

Kharge questioned the Modi government’s merging of the Railway Budget with the General Budget, suggesting it was done to evade accountability. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday posed seven pointed questions to the Narendra Modi government aimed at highlighting what he called “criminal negligence” in the management of Indian Railways after 10 people were killed and dozens injured in train accident in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district. Kharge questioned why, despite the severe Balasore accident, not a single kilometer of the much-touted Kavach anti-collision system had been added since then. He asked why the nearly 300,000 vacant posts in the Railways that have remained unfilled for the past decade. Citing an NCRB report, the Congress president noted that 100,000 people died in rail accidents between 2017 and 2021, demanding accountability for these fatalities. “The Railway Board itself has admitted that the long working hours of loco pilots due to acute shortage of manpower are the main reason for the increasing number of accidents. Then why were the posts not filled?” he posted on X. Pointing towards the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s criticism of the Railways for the “neglect” shown by the Railway Board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), Kharge asked why was the CRS not strengthened. The veteran Congress leader, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, questioned why 75% of funding for the ‘Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh’ had been cut, with funds being allegedly misallocated. “Why is this money being used by railway officials on unnecessary expenses and comfort facilities?” he asked. Kharge lamented the increased cost of travel in the Sleeper Class and the reduction in sleeper coaches, which has led to overcrowding and ticket cancellations.