Opp slams, Pranab defends Mamata
With talk of a Cabinet reshuffle in the air, there was mounting pressure on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to rein in Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee in the wake of Monday morning’s devastating train collision in West Bengal that left over 60 passengers dead.
The railway minister also came in for sharp criticism from the Opposition parties including the Left and the BJP for the train mishap. Indeed, the Opposition seems all set to take on the “absentee” railway minister when the Monsoon Session of Parliament commences next week.
Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, perhaps, was the only one to defend his Cabinet colleague on Monday stating: “Accidents are accidents. Nobody can predict, that’s why it is an accident. I don’t think so,” he told reporters when asked whether the country needs “a full-time” railway minister. Even the Congress was forced to suggest that Ms Banerjee needs to do more in her ministry. “Those who work in the railways should ensure that such accidents are not repeated,” party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters here. Asked if Ms Banerjee was spending too much time in West Bengal, he said, “This is an accident. By raising political issues, one should not make light of the serious nature of the accident.”
Ms Banerjee has become more known for her frequent and long absences from the Capital rather than her work as railway minister. Indeed, the Trinamul Congress chief is often referred to as the “minister for West Bengal” given her focus on her home state and her lack of interest in her own ministry or in attending the Cabinet meetings given her frequent absences from them.
Indeed, during Ms Banerjee’s tenure as rail minister, Monday’s collision was the third one in recent months. While Ms Banerjee can take cover behind “Maoist sabotage” for the Gyaneswari Express train mishap in May in which nearly 148 passengers died, she cannot blame the Maoists or sabotage for the October 2009 train collision of Goa Express.
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Sonia wishes recovery to injured
Age Correspondent
New Delhi
July 19: Expressing her deep sorrow over the deaths in the train accident in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday conveyed her condolences to the bereaved families and wished speedy recovery for the injured.
In the meantime, defending railways minister Mamta Banerjee, the party said that accountability could be fixed only after a proper inquiry into the circumstances that led to the accident.
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