Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi on Wednesday targeted the BJP-led Central government over train accidents, saying that earlier the railway ministers used to resign over the incidents of major accidents and “now, resignations do not happen”.
While speaking on the rail safety issue in Rajya Sabha, the Congress leader said, “The railways is considered to be the national transporter and is the main mode of transportation for the common people. The people are unable to get confirmed tickets and now the railway is looting the passengers in the name of dynamic fare.”
He said that in November, the fare of the Suvidha Express AC 2-tier ticket “was Rs 9,395 for travelling between Mumbai to Patna”. “The base fare was Rs 2950, and Rs 5900 dynamic fare was charged.”
The Congress MP asked that can’t the railway add extra coaches to the train to meet the demand for waiting tickets.
Referring to the Balasore train accident this year, Pratapgarhi said, “Hundreds of passengers died. Earlier, Railway Ministers used to take responsibility for accidents and used to resign on the basis of conscience. Now, perhaps there is no voice of conscience, Railway Ministers do not resign… resignations do not happen in BJP governments,” he said.
The Congress MP also slammed the Railway Minister for “not saying a word” on the incident in which a Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel shot dead four people on a train.
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