New Delhi: In his first address to parliament after the New Delhi railway station stampede last month, Union minister for railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, facing criticism over increasing railway accidents, said that railway safety should not be politicised. Hitting out at opposition MPs who had raised concerns about declining safety, Vaishnaw pointed to the United Progressive Alliance era and said that railway investment had increased in the Modi years. He added that India will achieve a degree of rail safety in five years that developed countries needed 20 years to achieve, and that those who do not support this will be “bid farewell” to by the country.

Vaishnaw’s statement came in the Rajya Sabha while he was replying to the debate on the Railway Amendment Bill (2024) on Monday (March 10). The Bill which was passed by the Lok Sabha in December repeals the  Indian Railway Board Act, 1905 and incorporates its provisions of the Union government's powers and functions with respect to the Railway Board into the Railways Act, 1989. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha by a voice note on Monday evening, with the opposition staging a walkout during his reply accusing the minister of “arrogance”, while some members later returned when amendments were to be moved.

“Yes, I am a bureaucrat and a technocrat. But I am no less committed than any other politician in the country. If there is a problem with my commitment, then raise a finger, otherwise you have no right to point a finger,” said Vaishnaw during his reply.

'You have a bureaucratic mindset'

Earlier during the debate, Congress MP Vivek Tankha pointed to recent railway accidents – from the one in Balasore that killed over 200 people in 2023 to the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station last month – and said that the minister lacked political openness as a bureaucrat.

"You love technology. You react immediately on Twitter [now rebranded as X]. You have a bureaucratic mindset and an innovative mindset. But you lack political openness,” said Tankha.

“Despite having all the technology, how are these incidents happening? Holi is coming, will we see this in every festival? What have you achieved in the last 11 years? Is responsibility limited to some officials? Everyone knew that lakhs are going to the Kumbh Mela but how can no one else be responsible?” 

Tankha also said that while he is not asking for anyone’s resignation but earlier railway ministers like Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned over rail accidents.

Also read: Rail Accidents: Under Fire, Ashwini Vaishnaw Blames Opposition for 'Amplifying Smallest Incidents'

'Call for accountability'

During the debate opposition members said that the bill had failed to reform India railways and demanded accountability for increasing railway accidents and raised concerns about centralisation of the Railway board through the legislation, accusing the government of taking over its control.

Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev said that the bill gives a political message that the NDA government does not “care about accountability for negligence and inefficiency, they do not give the people of India priority.”

“When there is a crash, when we see people dying and getting injured, that is the time that we think, 'What is the accountability of the honourable minister?' Today the 1989 Act allows you to prosecute officers but not the minister because of sovereign immunity. In these circumstances, in a democracy, the prime minister of India should have asked for the resignation of the honourable railway minister. 678 railway accidents between 2014 and 2023, 781 lives lost, 1500 injuries including employees. Does this not call for accountability in a democratic country like ours?”

Vaishnaw said that a fair inquiry is being conducted into the stampede in New Delhi last month but condemned Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha for alleging that CCTV cameras had been switched off.

“When the stampede took place at the New Delhi Railway Station, CCTV cameras were switched off. The concern is that people should not find out, instead of how to rectify it,” Jha had said during his speech.

"I outrightly reject that CCTV cameras were switched off. I have seen the CCTV footage myself and I have it. I condemn this statement,” said Vaishnaw in his reply.

“Every person, every life, is important. Every accident is unfortunate. We should not do politics on this. We should take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

'UPA to blame'

In his response, Vaishnaw also said that anti-collision devices were declared a failure during the UPA years and opposition members should not refer to them.

"During the UPA government, anti-collision devices were officially called a failure; it was decided to remove them in 2012. I hope the TMC MP does not refer to ACD because it was during their tenure it was brought in and declared a failure,” he said.

Vaishnaw said that the Modi government is prioritising railway safety through Kavach and will do in five years what developed countries have done in twenty years and those who will support this endeavour the government will be thankful but those who won’t, the country will “bid them farewell”.

“In 2016 Modi completed and developed Kavach which has a safety integrity level of 4-which is the highest- which took three years. Despite Covid years, experiments were done across all terrains. All features were brought into the device. From 2021-24 all features were tested and Kavach 4.0 was approved in 2024. Now 10,000 locomotive orders have been placed. I am saying with responsibility what developed nations have done in 20 years, we will do it in five years.”

“Those who will support us in this endeavour, we thank them and those who won't, the country will bid them farewell,” he added.

'Rail, not Reels'

During the debate, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar asked the minister to concentrate "more on Rail than Reels", and said that during the 10 years of the NDA regime, there were 678 railway accidents – which is 68 accidents per year.

“At least 15% of railway safety posts are empty,” he said, asking the minister to look into it.

In his reply, Vaishnaw pointed to investment in the UPA regime and said that steps had been taken by the Modi government in the last decade to enhance safety including unmanned level crossings, safety devices, and track upgradation.

“In the UPA regime, investment to enhance safety used to be in the range of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore. Today we are investing a sum of over Rs 1.14 lakh crore every year on enhancing safety,” he said.

“Even after reaching this level, we are not satisfied. We will have to go to the root cause of the matter to solve issues.”

During his reply, opposition members raised protests accusing the minister of arrogance and staged a walkout.

“The opposition walked out for a simple reason that during the tenure of Ashwini Vaishnaw ji and PM Modi, there have been more than 670 train accidents, over 1,500 have been injured and over 700 have died. Recently 18 people died at the stampede in Delhi. But the way the minister was replying to our concerns reeked of arrogance and if I must say ignorance,” said TMC MP Dev to reporters outside parliament.

“He is refusing to acknowledge the kind of injury that has been caused to public property and life in India due to negligence of the railway ministry. He gave us no scope for constructive criticism because of which we walked out and we refuse to support this bill.”

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.