The stampede at New Delhi Railway Station has caused quite an uproar amongst the public and politicians alike. While the death toll mounted to 18 on Sunday, calls for Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s resignation kept growing louder with each passing day.
Opposition parties accused the incumbent government of trying to cover up the tragic deaths. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the attempt by the Narendra Modi government to hide the truth is “extremely shameful and condemnable.” Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi stated that the railway station could have made a better arrangement since the number of devotees going to Prayagraj for Mahakumbh is huge.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate demanded immediate resignation from Vaishnaw while alleging that railway administration failed in its effort and that it was “criminal negligence” on part of the government. Shrinate said that Vaishnaw had no right to keep holding on to his position of a Railway Minister.
Shrinate further informed that on the day stampede happened, around 1500 general tickets were being issues every hour. She argued if that was the case then why did railway authorities not make proper arrangements?
She said that Vaishnaw has been trying to cover up the casualty figures of the New Delhi Railway Station stampede when instead he should be taking the responsibility for the mishap and show sensitivity towards the victims and their respective families.
Shrinate also alleged that when people were giving first-hand eyewitness accounts, the railway authorities were trying to intimidate the journalists in a blatant effort to cover up everything.
She further called the stampede to be a “genocide” rather than an accident. She said the Mahakumbh is seeing two kinds of visitors – one that travels by helicopters and the other that dies in a stampede. Calling for an end to the VVIP culture, Shrinate said, “Ashwini Vaishnaw has no moral right to stay in his position for even a minute longer.”