New Delhi: The Congress Monday alleged that the government roping in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the Balasore rail accident was part of “diversionary tactics to derail any attempt to fix accountability”.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had been similarly brought in to inquire into the 2016 Kanpur derailment accident but the case was eventually closed with no charge sheet being filed.
“The Railway Minister asked the NIA to investigate (2016 Kanpur derailment). Subsequently, you claimed in an election rally in 2017 that there was a ‘conspiracy’. The nation was assured that strictest punishment would be meted out. However, in 2018, the NIA closed the investigation and refused to file a charge sheet. The nation is still in the dark — who is responsible for 150 avoidable deaths?” Kharge wrote in the four-page letter.
He added that the statements so far and the roping in of CBI, “remind us of 2016”. “They show that your government has no intent to address the systemic safety malaise, but is instead finding diversionary tactics to derail any attempts to fix accountability.”
Further attacking the prime minister and the railway minister, Kharge raised the concerns over CBI being handed over the case. “The Railway Minister claims to have already found a root cause, but yet has requested the CBI to investigate,” he wrote, adding that CBI is meant to investigate crimes and not railway accidents.
“The CBI, or any other law enforcement agency, cannot fix accountability for technical, institutional and political failures. In addition, they lack the technical expertise in railway safety, signalling, and maintenance practices,” he asserted.
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UPA govt’s ‘Raksha Kavach’ put on backfoot?
Kharge’s letter raised several points about the railway ministry he once headed under the Manmohan Singh government between 2013 and 2014.
He alleged that the plans to roll out the anti-train-collision system “originally named Raksha Kavach was put on the back burner”. The system was developed under the UPA government in 2011 by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation, Kharge wrote.
“Your (Modi) government simply renamed the scheme ‘Kavach’ and in March 2022, the Railway Minister himself projected the rechristened scheme as a new novel invention. But the question still remains, why have only a measly 4% of routes of Indian Railways been protected by ‘Kavach’ till now?” he asked.
Kharge also highlighted the CAG reports, the Parliamentary Standing Committee report and an internal report from February raising concerns about various aspects of Indian Railways.
As reported by ThePrint, in an internal report the principal chief operating manager of South Western Railway Zone had raised concerns over signal failure of an express train. The official had warned of a re-occurrence of such an incident.
Pointing out the report, Kharge said, “why and how could the Ministry of Railways ignore this crucial warning?”
Instead of focusing on strengthening the railways at the basic level, he said, “only superficial touch up is being done to stay in news.” “Instead of making the railways more effective, more advanced, and more efficient, it is instead being meted out with step-motherly treatment.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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