Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw slammed by Shiv Sena

In response to the crush at Bandra station  on Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut attacked Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, saying he was too preoccupied with the bullet train project and that people in Mumbai were being neglected. According to officials, a stampede at the Bandra Terminus in Mumbai on Sunday morning caused nine injuries, including two serious injuries, as people rushed to board a train headed for Gorakhpur.

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 is presently being built with the goal of drastically cutting down on the amount of time it takes to travel between the two cities. Raut asserted that despite the railway minister’s reputation for being well educated and his affiliation with prestigious universities like IITs, he has not been able to address the issues of the average citizenry who depends on the railways for transportation.

“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.