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Congress party on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the New Delhi railway station stampede, which killed 18 people including three children, saying that he had no "moral right" to continue in his position.
Speaking at a press conference, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said the Railway Minister must take responsibility for the mishap and called on the central government to dismiss him. "The Railway Minister should take responsibility for this accident and resign from his post immediately, or the government should dismiss him. In view of yesterday's mismanagement and massacre, the Railway Minister has no moral right to remain in his post," Shrinate asserted. Accusing the Railway Minister of "hiding the death toll", the Congress leader said that commoners cannot be left vulnerable to a minister who claims the death of people to be a "minor incident". "The common Indian cannot be left at the mercy of such a Railway Minister who calls the death of people a 'minor incident' and hides the death toll instead of expressing sympathy for the victims," Shrinate added. Lashing out at the Modi government, the Congress leader claimed that there were "two India" where "the king" arranges VVIP dip and helicopter rides for his friends while commoners are forced to die in the crowd and suffocate on railway platforms. "On one hand, the king makes his friends take a VVIP dip in the Kumbh. On the other hand, the king compels the common people to die by crushing them in the crowd. The king arranges a tour of Prayagraj for his friends on a helicopter while leaving the commoners to suffocate on the railway platforms," Shrinate lamented. Earlier, the Congress party accused Railway Minister Vaishnaw of "hiding deaths". In a post on X, Congress said, "Name: Ashwini Vaishnaw. Job: Hiding Deaths." The stampede occurred around 10 pm when thousands of devotees were heading to Prayagraj Mahakumbh, causing severe overcrowding at the station. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway, KPS Malhotra, the incident occurred when a large number of passengers gathered on platform no. 14, where the Prayagraj Express was stationed. Additionally, delays in the departures of the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani led to further congestion at platforms 12, 13, and 14. An eyewitness described the chaos, stating that the crowd came from both sides after an announcement about a train platform change, leading to the stampede. Another eyewitness recounted the horror, saying that the crowd was beyond control. People from the administration and even NDRF personnel were there, but when the crowd exceeded the limit, it was impossible to manage them. Most of the bodies of the deceased brought to the national capital's Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital following the stampede at the New Delhi Railway station had injuries on their chest and abdomen areas, with asphyxia being the likely cause of death, according to RML hospital sources. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh was announced by the Indian Railways for the families of the deceased who lost their lives in the tragic incident. Additionally, the Indian Railways announced a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh for those seriously injured in the incident and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries. Earlier today, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the demise of people in an "unfortunate incident" at New Delhi Railway Station, where 18 people, including three children, lost their lives in a stampede caused by severe overcrowding. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased hailing from Bihar and Rs 50,000 for those who have sustained injuries. Former Union Railway Minister and RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said that the Railway's mismanagement led to the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station. When asked about his suggestion regarding crowd management for the Mahakumbh, he said, "Kumbh ka kahan koi matlab hai. Faaltu hai kumbh (Kumbh has no meaning. Kumbh is useless)." (ANI)
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