West Bengal chief minister, however, avoided making a political statement saying, “Such a tragic moment is not the right time to make political comments.
Even as the death toll in Friday’s Gyaneshwari Express mishap rose by the minute, political parties were merrily playing the blame game.
Refusing to openly hold Maoists responsible for the tragedy, Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee and her lieutenants described it as a planned conspiracy aimed at embarrassing the party before the West Bengal civic polls on May 30.
In fact, Mamata and the railways refused to accept the fact that removal of fish plates derailed 13 coaches of the train.
“According to information available with us, the driver of the Gyaneshwari Express tried to brake after he heard an explosion on the tracks, which derailed the coaches. It seems like a pre-planned controversy. I request the Union home ministry to conduct a detailed investigation,” she said.
When the media asked Mamata whether Maoists were responsible for the mishap, she said, “I am not saying anything. It could be Maoists, or anybody else.”
Going a step ahead, Trinamool Lok Sabha member and Union minister of state for rural development Shishir Adhikari said the mishap was a conspiracy to keep Mamata busy elsewhere before the West Bengal civic elections.
In line with Trinamool, a spokesman for the Maoist-backed Public Committee against Police Atrocities said the mishap was masterminded by CPI(M). “They are trying to shift the blame by planting handwritten leaflets at the mishap site,” he said.
On the other hand, the Left parties and the Congress, besides holding Maoists responsible for the mishap, criticised Mamata for double standards.
Congress leaders challenged the railway minister to prove her theory. They said she was maintaining double standards on the Maoist issue since the very beginning.
Party MP Deepa Dasmunshi was the most vocal. “As railway minister, Mamata cannot avoid responsibility and maintain double standards on the Maoist issue. On one hand, she has been claiming there are no Maoists in West Bengal and opposing ‘Operation Green Hunt’. One the other, she recently claimed in parliament that the railways was suffering because of Maoist insurgency,” she said.
West Bengal chief minister of CPI(M) Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the state had decided to go all out against the ultra-red forces now since they were on a “war against society”.
“They used to say they were at war against the state. But considering the way they have attacked civilians, it is a war against society,” he told reporters in Kolkata.
The chief minister, however, avoided making a political statement saying, “Such a tragic moment is not the right time to make political comments.
“We are striving to save the country from this menace. We have sensitised our forces to counter Maoists. It’s a difficult job, but we must confront them.”
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