Opposition Accuses Ashwini Vaishnaw of Gross Incompetence
New Delhi Station Stampede (Image credit video grab)
New Delhi Railway Stampede: Opposition Blames Railways for Crowd Mismanagement
By Raisina Correspondent
New Delhi, February 16: Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw came under sharp flaks from Opposition for incompetence after the New Delhi Station stampede left several dead.
The Congress posted a video of passengers in stampede situation while Vaushnaw had been claiming of normal train operations. “The stampede took place at 10 PM, and Vaishnaw was tweeting of situation under control at 11.30 PM,” said the Congress while sharing the video of a massive surge of population at the New Delhi Railway Station.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chada shared a clip of his speech in the Rajya Sabha where he had accused that the “passengers felt lucky if they found places to sit even in toilets of trains”. Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad wondered “if there is any trace of humanity left” on the New Delhi station stampede.
“It’s a case of gross incompetence. The Railways just doesn’t know how to manage crowds. Suddenly, they announced change of platform of a train. It just doesn’t learn from experiences,” said Azad.
Stampede at New Delhi Station After Passengers Slipped: Railways
Chadha in the Rajya Sabha had said that “on many routes, people are being stuffed like goats and sacks of potatoes and if one gets a seat even in the toilet of the train, then the person considers himself fortunate”.
“Innocent people are being stuffed in trains like sheep and goats. After taking full tickets, they are being pushed and shoved at stations. The innocent common man of our country accepts this as his fate,” added Chadha.
The Rajya Sabha MP also said that “many big events were organized for Maha Kumbh and it was said that Indian Railways is organizing Maha Kumbh very actively. I would like to tell that Prayagraj railway station and many nearby railway stations had to be closed because the government could not do crowd management”.
Reports said that 21 passengers lost their lives in Sunday stampede at the New Delhi Railway station. Deceased included 11 women and four children. The Railways blamed incident of passengers slipping on the foot over bridge for the stampede.
There have been several incidents of stampede at railways stations in India in the recent years. In 2004, four people lost their lives after a stampede at New Delhi station.
Join the WhatsApp Channel of The Raisina Hills
Follow on Google News https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMNK2vwsw39HWAw?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN%3Aen
About The Author
