Former Railway Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dinesh Trivedi on Saturday expressed anguish over the Odisha triple train accident that claimed the lives of 261 people and said nobody should do politics over dead bodies. "I think the priority has to be to save as many lives as possible...This is not the time for politics. Nobody can do politics over dead bodies," the Former Railway Minister said. "This is a massive tragedy. Our heart really goes out to the bereaved families," he further added.
Findings to be kept confidential
Earlier, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan expressed concern over Odisha's triple train tragedy and said this is a very unfortunate accident, the inquiry must be public and a high-level committee must disclose its findings. "At present, the central government is keeping things confidential, so I want the findings of the matter must be kept in front of everyone," he said.
Demanding the resignation of Railway Minister Ashiwini Vaishnaw he said, "We also demand the Resignation of the Railway Minister, he should offer voluntarily and follow the tradition of Lal Bahadur Shastri." Around 650 injured passengers have been taken to the Hospitals of Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak and Soro, the South Eastern Railway said.
PM Modi chairs high-level meeting on the accident
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also chaired a high-level meeting on Saturday to take stock of the situation in Odisha. In view of the Odisha train accident, more than 42 trains have been cancelled and more than 32 routes have been diverted.
The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah superfast express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station, Balasore district. According to Railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the accident took place around 7 pm on Friday.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation. He has ordered a detailed high-level inquiry into the incident.
