Railway minister too busy for Mumbai passengers: Raut on Bandra stampede

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut targeted Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday over the stampede at Bandra station here, claiming he was too busy with the bullet train project while passengers in Mumbai were being ignored.

Nine persons were injured, including two critically, in a stampede after rush for boarding a Gorakhpur-bound train at the Bandra Terminus in Mumbai on Sunday morning, as per officials.

Speaking to reporters here, Raut said, "Mumbai city gives maximum revenue to the Union government. Compared to it, we hardly get any facilities here for passengers."  "The railway minister is too involved with the bullet train project and people are left to die because of the poor infrastructure as the railway minister is disconnected with their problems," he claimed.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, aimed at significantly reducing the travel time between the two cities, is currently under-construction.

The railway minister is always presented as highly educated and his association with premium institutes like IITs is highlighted, but he has failed to solve problems of the common people who are dependent on the Railways for travel, Raut claimed.

"Mumbai city not only gives maximum revenue but has the highest number of suburban passengers. However, the railway minister has not taken any steps to solve the problems," the Rajya Sabha member charged.

Raut also hit out at the NDA government at the Centre over some of the railway accidents in the country during its tenure.

"Since the third term of this new Union government has commenced, at least 25 major railway accidents have taken place," he claimed.

"What solution did the government provide to address them?" Raut asked.

Who is responsible for so many people getting injured (referring to stampede at Bandra station)? Is there not an onus on the railway minister? he sought to know.