West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking to the press about the death toll and rescue operations in Odisha's Balasore in the tragic train accident, claimed that the death toll in the deadly train crash could be as high as 500 and that she had the information that rescue work in three "dabbas" or bogies were yet to take place. However, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw politely corrected Mamata Banerjee in full public glare and said that the "relief operations were completed and that the state govt data for fatalities was 238. " Mamata looked miffed after the Railway Minister corrected her and then said that 238 was the previous day data.
Mamata goes on to say that the remaining things can be discussed and that she was "shocked about the incident." BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya tweeted the video.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present during this episode. He also intervened to make the situation light and added "kar lenge..." (will talk) when Mamata seemed to raise her voice. The video is being widely shared on Twitter and BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya hit out at Mamata for her comments.
On Sunday, Railway Board member Jaya Varma Sinha addressed the media and said that prima facie the railways had learnt about the cause behind the tragic accident. However, she added that as part of the protocol, the Railways would have to wait for the report to share more information. In the evening, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Viashnaw said that the Railway Board had recommended a CBI probe into the train accident.
