Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Targeting the government over the Balasore train crash, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh claimed a senior Railway official had flagged a fault in the signal interlocking system in February and warned of the train accident risk but the problem was not rectified which led to the tragic train crash.
Addressing the media during his visit to the city on Tuesday, Singh said, "Balasore train crash is the biggest rail accident in independent India. In the initial statement of Railways, the cause of the accident was stated as a fault in the interlocking signal system."
He added that a senior railway official in one of his letters written in February, had clearly warned about the major risk of train accidents due to a fault in the interlocking signalling system and highlighted the need for its immediate rectification and improving the system.
"Because of the failure to fix this problem in time, a terrible rail accident occurred in Balasore. The number of railway derailments in the country has risen steadily in India since 2014 whereas the budget allocation for maintenance and safety measures in railways is decreasing,” he said.
The senior Congress leader also targeted the bullet train project and said, “At the same time, a lot of money is being spent on the bullet train project (between Mumbai and Ahmedabad) whose ticket is beyond reach for the poor man. The condition of Vande Bharat trains is such that its engine becomes useless due to collision with a cow."
Singh also claimed that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had tabled a report in Parliament on measures to bring down railway derailments in the country, but it was never discussed by the government in Parliament.
"There was a time when Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned as railway minister just over a normal train accident," he said in a veiled attack on incumbent Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
PM Modi is suffering from ‘megalomania’
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said he is suffering from a disease of campaigning for everything which is called 'megalomania'; in English.
"This disease has not been seen in any other politician in India so far. Whether to flag off a train or (to attend) any event held anywhere whether inside a tunnel or in Parliament, Modi wants that only he should feature in photographs," Singh alleged.
Singh motivates workers in BJP’s bastions
The Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) also reviewed the ongoing preparations by Congress party and the ticket aspirants to win in major bastions of BJP in Indore i.e. Indore-II and Indore-IV constituencies.
He also expressed displeasure over indiscipline by party workers and said that Congress would never get defeated in any elections if the party workers remain disciplined.
