AAP expressed sorrow over the recent rail accident in West Bengal's New Jalpaiguri, which left atleast 15 dead and 30 injured, and demanded accountability from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Mentioning the Balasore train accident in Odisha, which left at least 275 people dead and more than 1,000 injured, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, "Indian Railways is in a very bad state. The Railway Minister only makes big claims. Despite the train accident at Balasore in Odisha, he was made the Railway Minister again. It is not known for what he has been rewarded. Today, in trains, from General Coaches to Second and Third AC coaches, people are packed like straws. They are being treated like animals. Even in this scorching heat, people are forced to travel in these train coaches with their small children."
He claimed that another investigation committee will be set up to investigate this train accident, a couple of statements will be given and later the matter will be hushed up by whitewashing it. "The Railway Minister or any officer will not take responsibility for this accident, a couple of lower-ranking officers at the bottom of the hierarchy will be suspended. This is extremely unfortunate. People should keep these things in their hearts and minds so that they can answer them when the time comes. The public has answered it before, it will have to be answered even more strongly in the future," Singh said.
AAP General Secretary (Organisation) Dr Sandeep Pathak labelled the accident as deeply heart-wrenching and questioned whether the collision resulted from signal failures or errors, while inquiring about the presence of anti-collision devices. "We urge the government to take moral responsibility instead of deflecting blame onto officials," he said.
Extending full sympathy with the families of those who have lost their lives, Pathak said, "The Prime Minister and Railway Minister of the country should answer how long will such train accidents keep happening in our country. You talk about running bullet trains in the country but are not able to provide safety to an ordinary passenger from train accidents. How will this work?"
He added that the Union Railway Minister should answer these questions of the people of the country. "First, it is being said that both the trains were running on the same track, so did your signal system fail or was there any human error in it? Second, were anti-collision devices installed in these trains? If they were installed, then why did this accident happen and if they were not installed, then when will anti-collision devices be installed in these trains?" he questioned, adding that while the Modi government has been talking about this 'Kavach' (protection device) for years, there is no knowledge about progress made in it.
