259 killed in 27 train accidents in 3-year BJP rule: Congress

New Delhi, August 20

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala has alleged that since the BJP government took over in May 2014, 259 passengers have lost their lives and 899 were injured in 27 train accidents.

He said: “When will the government wake up and take safety of passengers travelling in railways seriously."

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At least 23 people were killed on Saturday after the Puri-Haridwar-Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Khatauli railway station in Muzaffarnagar.

Surjewala said that the railway safety still remains under the cloud of question mark with such accidents taking place at continuous basis.

"If Prime Minister Narendra Modi can spend Rs 1 lakh crore on a bullet train, which he promised between Ahmadabad and Mumbai, why can't he allocate 40 thousand crore for railway safety. We have seen platform tickets go up. We have seen, passengers fare go up, but railway safety remains under a serious cloud," he said.

He said: "We sincerely hope and request the government to at least wake up from its slumber taking a lesson from this painful train accident in Muzaffarnagar and ensure that adequate time-bound measures are taken for the railway safety."

Surjewala said that no amount of compensation and money can bring back the lives of those who have died.

"Important question is how they are going to prevent such incidents from happening in future. What steps have they taken and lesson learnt from such incident," he added. —ANI