‘Criminal abandonment of Railways by Modi govt’: Congress on West Bengal train accident

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that this party will continue to hold the Narendra Modi government ‘accountable.’

Reacting to the collision between Kanchanjunga Express and a goods train in West Bengal, the Congress party asserted that it will continue to hold the Narendra Modi government to account for its ‘criminal abandonment’ of the Indian Railways.

A scene from the accident site (HT Photos)

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“Extremely distressed by the collision in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, where many people have lost their lives and several have been injured. The scenes are painful. Our heart goes out to the families of the victims. We express our solidarity and condolences to each one of them. We wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Immediate and full compensation must be provided to the victims,” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Over the past 10 years, the Modi government has ‘utterly mismanaged’ the Railway ministry, Kharge said, adding that as a responsible opposition, it is the duty of the Congress to underline how the ministry has been converted into a ‘platform of camera-driven self-promotion.’

“Today's tragedy is yet another reminder of this stark reality,” the senior politician stated.

PM Modi takes stock of situation

In a social media post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed that he had taken stock of the situation.

"The accident in West Bengal is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Rescue operations are underway to assist the affected. The Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji is on the way to the site of the mishap as well," PM Modi wrote on X.

The government has announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the kin of each deceased, ₹2.5 lakh to those grievously injured, and ₹50,000 in case of minor injuries.