CCTVs were on, Railway safety top priority: Ashwini Vaishnaw rejects Opposition stampede charge

During the debate, Opposition MPs questioned the overall functioning of the railways and attacked the government over increased fares, quality of service and safety issues, citing the examples of the Delhi stampede and the 2023 Balasore accident that killed 291 people. They alleged centralisation of railway board appointments through the Bill and lack of parliamentary oversight.

The Opposition members walked out of the House when Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw categorically denied the allegation of RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha that CCTV cameras were switched off at the New Delhi railway station when the stampede happened. Jha also raised questions on the accountability for railway accidents.

Replying to Jha’s claim, Vaishnaw said, “A probe is underway regarding the New Delhi station stampede. I categorically deny that CCTVs were switched off. I have the CCTV footage. It is tragic even if one life is lost. We do not have to politicise the issue.”

Vaishnaw said the government is giving top-most priority to safety in railways, having committed an outlay of over `1 lakh crore per year for upgrading various mechanisms. It is taking several steps to enhance safety measures such as creating holding areas, with a pilot being run at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Ayodhya railway stations. He said all these stations will soon be equipped with access control and only those with confirmed tickets would be able to go to the platforms.

“… Joints vulnerability has been reduced through longer railway panels… We had only 90 fog safety devices in 2014, today, we have 26,000 devices. We are replacing old railway lines; 50,000 km have been replaced,” he said.

Responding to questions on “centralisation of powers”, Vaishnaw said the Bill’s intent is to simplify the existing legislation by merging two Acts and added that it would empower the field offices. He cited the example of the powers of zonal general managers to accept contracts worth `1,000 crore at their level and sanction projects up to `50 crore.

“Empowerment and decentralisation have given pace to work. There is no question of reducing powers of states, (PM) Narendra Modi inherently believes in cooperative federalism,” he said.

In the last 11 years, 34,000 km of new railway tracks have been laid and 35,000 km of electrification of railway lines has been done, said the minister. “This will reduce pollution by 95% when compared to diesel locomotives. Whether it is road or rail, we should electrify transportation,” he said.

Earlier in the debate, Congress MP Vivek Tankha opposed the Bill saying it has shrunk parliamentary scrutiny, reduced the railway board’s autonomy and made it minister-driven. Slamming Vaishnaw for his “bureaucratic mindset”, he questioned whether accountability for accidents lay only with officials.

TMC’s Sushmita Dev said the 1989 Railways Act had 200 sections that dealt with every issue and subject. She said it was the “apt time to review the Act, make amendments to it and send that Bill to an appropriate committee for scrutiny”.

NCP’s Praful Patel, BJP’s Ghanshyam Tiwari, former PM H D Deve Gowda and AAP’s Sandeep Kumar Pathak supported the amendments to the Bill during the debate. Deve Gowda appreciated Vaishnaw’s work as the Railway Minister, lavishing praise on the railway expansion work.