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The Congress on Sunday demanded immediate resignation of Union Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav over the death of 18 people during a stampede at New Delhi railway station on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged "criminal negligence" on the part of the government and said the "failure of railway administration" led to the deaths. The party expressed its condolences to the bereaved families. "Rail minister Ashwani Vaishnav must resign with immediate effect...the railway minister does not have any moral right to stay in his position," she said. Shrinate said "about 1500 general tickets were issued every hour yesterday" at the New Delhi railway station and asked why did not the railway authorities make proper arrangements for managing the crowd. She accused the Railway Minister of "trying to cover up things and hide the casualty figures". "Instead of owning up the responsibility and showing sensitivity towards the victims and their families, the railway minister was resorting to cover up and people themselves were being blamed for the stampede," she said. She alleged that when people were narrating the tales of tragedy and trauma, the authorities were trying to intimidate the journalists "in a blatant attempt to cover up everything". The Congress leader observed that had the railways made proper arrangements and run sufficient trains, last night's incident could have been averted. She said airfares to Pryagraj were astronomical, and those going to Kumbh mela by road were facing inconvenience. She alleged that there were "two types of India" and common people were suffering. Later talking to ANI, she said asked why extra forces were not deployed in view of rush of people. "What happened yesterday was not an accident but genocide... Why were extra security forces not deployed? Instead of taking responsibility, the rail Minister and the department are blaming the people... This is the first time two types of Kumbh are going on- One where people are going by helicopter and the other where people are dying in a stampede. We need to put an end to this VVIP culture. Ashwini Vaishnaw does not have the moral right to remain in his position for a minute longer," she said. She said among those who lost their lives were five children and nine women. "Why was the disaster management agency not called," she asked. Railways have formed a two-member committee to investigate the incident. (ANI)
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