Mumbai Stampede: Following the stampede at Mumbai’s Bandra station, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the incident, claiming that he was too busy with the bullet train project while passengers in Mumbai were being ignored.
The stampede incident happened on Sunday when nine people sustained injuries. Two of the injured were in a critical condition. The stampede took place after a rush to board a Gorakhpur-bound train at the Bandra Terminus in Mumbai on Sunday morning, as per officials.
Speaking to reporters, Raut said, “Mumbai city gives maximum revenue to the Union government. Compared to it, we hardly get any facilities here for passengers.” “The railway minister is too involved with the bullet train project, and people are left to die because of the poor infrastructure as the railway minister is disconnected with their problems,” he asserted.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, aimed at significantly reducing the travel time between the two cities, is currently under construction. Continuing his attack on Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP said that the railway minister is always presented as highly educated and his association with premium institutes like IITs is highlighted, but he has failed to solve problems of the common people who are dependent on the railways for travel, Raut claimed.
“Mumbai City not only gives maximum revenue but has the highest number of suburban passengers. However, the railway minister has not taken any steps to solve the problems,” the Rajya Sabha member charged.
Raut also lashed out at the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Center over some of the railway accidents in the country during its tenure. “Since the third term of this new Union government has commenced, at least 25 major railway accidents have taken place,” he claimed. “What solution did the government provide to address them?” Raut asked. Who is responsible for so many people getting injured (referring to the stampede at Bandra station)? Is there not an onus on the railway minister? he sought to know.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray trained his guns on the Railways Minister over the incident and raised questions on the minister’s ability to manage railway safety. “Wish the reel minister was a rail minister for once. The incident at Bandra only reflects how incapable the current Railways Minister is. The BJP has made Ashwini Vaishnav ji a Prabhari for BJP Maharashtra for elections, but every week there are some incidents and accidents that occur with the railways. It is such a shame that our country has been forced under such incapable ministers,” he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
