TMC slams railway minister's bullet train remark, demands accountability for train accidents

Kolkata, Jul 31 (PTI) The TMC on Wednesday slammed Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for his remarks that the country is working on bullet trains and demanded that he be held accountable for recent train accidents, which have turned journeys into a nightmare for commuters.

Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya voiced their concerns about the rising number of train accidents in the country, stating that these recent incidents highlight numerous shortcomings that need to be addressed.

"Train journeys have now turned into nightmares for commuters. The entire railway infrastructure has collapsed. They couldn't even uphold the advancements made by Mamata Banerjee during her tenure as railway minister. All they are doing is inaugurating new trains and neglecting existing ones," Ghosh said while addressing a press conference here.

Vaishnaw on Wednesday said India is working on developing bullet trains with indigenous technology.

He told the Lok Sabha that the bullet train project, the first of which is under construction between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, is very complex technologically and is being built with Japan's help.

The TMC leader wondered whether the Railway Minister would take accountability for train accidents.

"The Railways Minister is talking about bullet trains in Parliament but not about the multiple train accidents. He and the Prime Minister should take accountability for these accidents. There are plenty of vacant posts in the railways. Why isn't the government filling up those?" he questioned.

Speaking on the issue of state's financial dues being not cleared by the Centre, Ghosh said the Union government hasn't released a penny for Bengal because they lost in the 2021 polls due to their "vindictive" politics.

"The Union Finance Minister is making misleading claims in Parliament. It was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who used the funds of the state government to clear the dues of the MGNREGA workers in Bengal. The most number of fake job cards have been found in UP, MP, and Odisha but despite this, they are getting funds but we are being deprived," he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, West Bengal MoS for Finance (Independent Charge), Chandrima Bhattacharya said the state's outstanding dues stand at Rs 1.71 lakh-crore.

"We staged multiple protests and demonstrations demanding our due funds. But we haven't received a penny. Our leader Abhishek Banerjee has only sought a white paper clarifying how much funds were given to Bengal. The FM made tall claims but despite technical advancements, why isn't the Finance Ministry producing a white paper," she said.

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha during the reply of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over its demand for a white paper on MGNREGA funds, which have allegedly been on hold for West Bengal since March 2022.

According to the Union Rural Development Ministry, release of funds to West Bengal under MGNREGA has been on hold since March 9, 2022, as per provisions under section 27 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, due to non-compliance with the directions of the central government. PTI PNT MNB