INDIA bloc leaders call Ashwini Vaishnaw "reel minister", demands resignation over increased rail accidents

"Modi ji's reel minister got angry because he was asked for accountability. NDA 1.0 thought that he would not be asked for accountability. They forgot that the opposition has also become very strong. They will have to introspect. The previous railway minister used to resign after feeling guilty. Rise above publicity and reel ministership, become the railway minister and answer the country," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said.

Congress MP Deepender Sing Hooda also condemned the 'reel' remark made by Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha and said it "shows arrogance".

"The one who is responsible for building railway track has not built even an inch of railway track in Haryana and he is talking about reels," Deepender Singh Hooda said.

"We are demanding the railway tracks, three railway tracks are approved but not even a single inch of railway track has been built in the past ten years," Hooda said.

Congress MP further said that the union minister's statement showed arrogance which we condemn.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi called Vaishnaw a 'Reel Minister' and demanded his resignation based on the increased rail accidents.

"BJP ministers do not take moral responsibility for their failures... In the last 2 months, 4 goods trains derailed, 14 people died and many were injured but despite this, the Railway Minister did not take any moral responsibility and tried to intimidate the opposition... Last year about 300 people died in Balasore, the number of train accidents has increased in the last 1-2 years but the Railway Minister is busy making reels, he is not the Railway Minister but a 'Reel Minister', a 'Derailment Minister'," he said.

"Based on the accidents that are happening, he should resign but it is the tradition of BJP that no one takes responsibility... His (Ashwini Vaishnaw) entire statement was not satisfactory and he ran away from accountability, this is why the parties of the INDIA alliance walked out," the Congress leader added.

Earlier, Railway Minister Vaishnaw said, "We don't make reels, we do hard work unlike you people who make reels to show off."

He said that the Narendra Modi government has improved the working conditions of the loco pilot by bringing amendments in 2016.

"The average working and rest times of Loco pilots are decided by a rule that was formulated in 2005. In 2016, the rules were amended and Loco pilots were given more facilities. All the running rooms - 558 were made air-conditioned. Loco cabs vibrate much, heated up and hence more than 7,000 loco cabs are air-conditioned. It was zero in the time of those people who today show sympathy by making reels," the minister said.

The Union Minister was referring to a July 9 post by the Congress where they had posted a video of LoP Rahul Gandhi interacting with Loco-Pilots claiming that the Pilots' lives were in pathetic condition.

"The Loco Pilots of our country are taking responsibility for the travel and lives of crores of Indians in very pathetic conditions. They are neither getting adequate comfort nor any basic facility inside the engine. For the safety of Indian Railways as well as crores of passengers, change in their lives is necessary," the Congress post had said.

Meanwhile, in his speech Vaishnaw appealed to all the members of parliament to not politicise the railway and said that this institution is the lifeline of India.

While speaking in Lok Sabha he said "Railway is the lifeline of India, the Indian economy relies on the Indian railway. Railway is a service for the common man of this country".

"I request this house to focus on strengthening, modernising and improving the operating procedure of railways and depoliticising these issues" he added.

He further said, "I thank members of parliament who suggested constructive suggestions for the development of railways. I also want to thank the opposition and ruling party MP for applauding government efforts".

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their guidance and for addressing the financial issues of the railway.

He said "I would like to thank PM Modi for the guidance and support that he provides. I also thank FM Nirmala Sitharaman for addressing the biggest issue of railways, which is the lack of investment, on the direction of PM Modi she has solved this issue by record allocation in the budget for railways. I also thank those 12 lakh workers of railways, the railway family who operates over 20 thousand trains every day." (ANI)