New Delhi: In the wake of the Sainthia train
mishap and allegations of apathy against Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee, BJP on Tuesday said UPA ministers were acting like
"independent satraps" and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was
"incapacitated" by this attitude.
"The UPA ministers are behaving as independent 'satraps'
and the Prime Minister appears to be completely incapacitated
at reining in the rampant lack of discipline and total
mismanagement of crucial sectors of economy and national life
by these ministers," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
Other than Banerjee, BJP named Food and Agriculture
Minister Sharad Pawar, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and
Telecom Minister A Raja, among those "behaving independent" of
the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
"The shocking state of disarray and mismanagement of
these ministries and the blundering state of affairs is
bewildering," he said, adding that despite this Singh and
Gandhi were maintaining a "deafening silence" on the matter.
"Collective responsibility of the cabinet is completely
absent," Rudy alleged.
BJP said if Singh had any sensitivity, he should take
action.
The main opposition expressed "shock" at the "increasing
operational inefficiency of Indian Railways" under the UPA
Government. "Gruesome accidents with a heavy toll of innocent
human lives have become a regular feature of Indian Railways,"
Rudy said.
Taking a dig at Banerjee, BJP said her interest in
becoming Chief Minister of West Bengal is "proving costly" for
the people. The party expressed dismay that she did not accept
responsibility for the Sainthia accident and tried to link it
to West Bengal politics.
"It is difficult to assess how many people will lose
their lives in campaign to become Chief Minister... She does
not hold administrative or review meetings. Though she is not
responsible for running trains, she needs to control its
management," Rudy said.
There have been 13 train accidents in the last 14 months
in which nearly 428 people have lost their lives, he claimed.
More that 20,000 posts in security sector are lying vacant in
Railways, he added.
Rudy said the opposition would raise these issues
prominently in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha MP compared UPA ministers with Emperor
Nero of Rome, who were turning a blind eye to "neglect,
rampant corruption, administrative apathy and complete
disregard of the concerns and needs of common people".
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 22:25