Sharad Pawar Demands Railway Minister's Resignation, Cites Lal Bahadur Shastri

The tragic train accident in Odisha's Balasore has claimed the lives of nearly 288 people and over one thousand people sustained injuries.

Image credit: ANI

Pune: Asserting that the then Union Railway Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri tendered his resignation when an accident took place, Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday demanded Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation after a tragic accident in Odisha that occurred on Friday.

"When Lal Bahadur Shastri was a Railways Minister, an accident took place and it happened again. After that, Jawaharlal Nehru was against the decision of giving a resignation. But Shastri has said that it is my moral responsibility and resigned. The same incidence is being faced by the country, the politicians should take the possible steps," he told to media. Pawar further expressed grief over the horrific train accident in Odisha's Balasore.

The disastrous train accident has claimed 288 lives so far while over 1,000 people sustained injuries. The preliminary report on the tragedy said that the three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district. It had said that 17 coaches of these two trains were derailed and severely damaged in the accident that took place on Friday evening.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who reached the site on Saturday for taking stock of the situation there said that directions have been given to probe the train accident in Odisha's Balasore which killed over 260 passengers, and that whoever is found guilty will not be spared.