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Politics over MP train accidents: Digvijaya Singh says Suresh Prabhu must quit; Trivedi says tragedy could have been avoided

Even as the death toll in the accidents of Kamayani Express and Janata Express continued to increase, political leaders began the blame-game over the tragic accident.  

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Even as the death toll in the accidents of Kamayani Express and Janata Express continued to increase, political leaders began the blame-game over the tragic accident.  

Seven coaches of Kamayani Express, running from Mumbai to Varanasi, and five bogies plus the engine of the Mumbai-Jabalpur Janata Express derailed at 11 pm on Tuesday night.

Twenty seven bodies, including nine men, 11 women and five children, have been recovered so far from the site of the accident between Khirkiya and Harda, while over 250 passengers have been rescued.

Stating that the accident is the symptom of the deep-rooted cancer in the railway system, former Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi said, "This is totally unacceptable. I don't consider it an accident; an accident is something which can't be avoided. This could have been avoided."

He further added, "The truth is that year-after-year, the Railways require Rs.60,000 crores for maintenance, and unfortunately they do not have that money. Knowingly, you (Railways) jeopardising the lives of the common man, and that is not done. The reason for this derailment and other previous ones is man-made."

Trivedi also said, "It is alright to upgrade India's railway network with bullet trains or high speed trains, besides other facilities, first and foremost, there was a need to get your foundations strong. The entire truth has come out."

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted about the incident the demanding resignation of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. He said, "Deeply grieved to hear about the deaths in Train accident in MP. Accountability must be fixed. Heads must roll. Would they? No. Because BJP doesn't believe in fixing accountability & taking action. Why ? As Rajnath Ji said "in BJP no one resigns. We are not Congress"

Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi also said that Prabhu should explain the reason behind the rising number of train accidents in the nation. He said, "The Railway Minister had promised during the Rail Budget that rail safety will be his priority. More than a dozen rail accidents have taken place. Now, Railways Minister must clarify the reason behind rising number of rail accidents."

The chairman of the Railway Board, AK Mittal, said that the derailment of the two trains near Harda in Madhya Pradesh may have been caused by a sudden flash flood.

Speaking to ANI, Mittal said that ten minutes before the unfortunate tragedy, spot train movement was absolutely normal, and there was no inkling that a mishap could take place.

Mittal said, "This unfortunate incident took place at 11.30pm on Tuesday night. The Kamayani Express from Mumbai to Varanasi and the Janata Express going towards Mumbai was passing 20 kilometers from Harda near a bridge."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday offered his condolences to the families of the people who had died in train accidents in Madhya Pradesh, and also offered his prayers for the others who had been injured in the mishap.

The Prime Minister tweeted, "My prayers with injured. Authorities are doing everything possible on the ground. The situation is being monitored very closely."

(With inputs from ANI)

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