'Headlines management': Cong hits out at govt for seeking CBI probe into Odisha tragedy

The accident spot. Pic/AFP

On Tuesday, the Congress party on lashed out at the government over the Railways seeking a CBI probe into the Odisha triple train crash, and termed the move as headlines management, news agency PTI.

On Sunday, On June 4, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced that a CBI probe had been recommended into the accident.

Slamming the government, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Even before the Commissioner of Railway Safety has submitted his report on Balasore train disaster, a CBI inquiry is announced."

This is nothing but headlines management having failed to meet deadlines, he said on Twitter.

Ramesh also raised the issue of the 2016 Kanpur rail accident in which 150 lives were lost, and noted that the NIA has is yet to come out with its report.

"Ab yeh Chronology yaad kijiye, 1. Nov 20, 2016: Indore-Patna Express derails near Kanpur. Over 150 people lose their lives. 2. Jan 23, 2017: Then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu writes to Union Home Minister asking for NIA probe into this accident."

"3. Feb 24, 2017: PM says Kanpur train accident is a conspiracy. 4. Oct 21, 2018: Newspapers report NIA will NOT file any chargesheet in the derailment. 5: June 6, 2023: Still no OFFICIAL news on NIA final report on Kanpur derailment. Zero accountability!" Ramesh said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Odisha railway tragedy, saying "all the empty safety claims" of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw have now been "exposed" and the government must bring to light the real reasons that caused this grave accident. In his letter to Modi, Kharge hit out at the Railway minister for seeking a CBI probe, saying the law enforcement agency is meant to investigate crimes, not railway accidents.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the death figures given by the Ministry of Railways in the triple train crash in Odisha's Balasore, stating that 61 people from her state were dead and 182 were still missing. Banerjee also asked questions on whether Vande Bharat engines were up to the mark

The crash on Friday last involving two passenger trains and a goods train killed 275 people and injured more than 1,100, while the movement of goods and passenger trains on the busy route was also disrupted.

(With inputs from PTI)