Ashwini Vaishnaw defends BJP govt's Railways safety record

Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday came up with a strong rebuttal of the Opposition’s criticism in the Lok Sabha regarding recent train derailments and traffic incidents that have afflicted the railways.

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

A visibly charged Ashwini Vaishnaw was angry over the Opposition’s jibe of “Reel Minister’’ and strongly argued that safety measures had been neglected during the Congress regime and said the Opposition always wanted to politicise the issue.

Vaishnaw criticised the previous administrations for their failure to implement Automatic Train Protection (ATP) systems, stating, “Those who are shouting here must be asked in their 58 years of being in power why they were not able to install Automatic Train Protection (ATP), even 1 km. Today, they dare to raise the questions.”

Vaishnaw highlighted the significant strides made under the current administration in modernising the Indian Railways.