Odisha train tragedy: Former Rail Min Mamata Banerjee accuses Centre of 'downplaying number of deaths'

Former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused the Central government of downplaying the number of deaths in the Odisha train tragedy and slammed the BJP for horrific accident which took place on Friday. The Railway Ministry informed on Saturday that 288 people have died in the accident and nearly 1000 people sustained injuries in one of India's worst rail disasters in over two decades.

West Bengal CM Banerjee held a press conference in which she slammed the BJP-led government and even went on to say that the saffron party has been "hiding their mistakes" after the accident.

"They're trying to hide their mistakes. I am very saddened by this tragic incident, it will take a lot of time for the identification of the bodies. Instead of investigation, they're playing a dirty game," The Trinamool Congress chief said.

"The current govt hasn't done anything. It has instead brought down the quality of the Railways.

"This is a very unfortunate incident. The day it happened, we sent 150 ambulances, 50 doctors, nurses, buses and disaster management teams to the accident site. We are fully supporting the Odisha govt," Banerjee added.

She had flown to the accident site on Saturday to take a stock of the situation and also announced ₹5 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased passengers from West Bengal, ₹1 lakh to critically injured and ₹50,000 to those with minor injuries.