Making a populist gesture even after a train accident, Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has enhanced the ex-gratia to victims and offered jobs to the next of kin of the 16 passengers killed after the Bundelkhand Express derailed in Datiya today.Busy as he is with the Bihar polls, Laloo announced Rs five lakh to the families of those killed and jobs to their dependents. The Railways spokesperson later clarified that the amount included Rs four lakh as compensation and Rs 1 lakh ex-gratia.However, railway rules on claims and compensation state that the relatives of those killed are to be paid Rs 15,000 ex-gratia, apart from Rs 5,000 to those seriously injured and Rs 500 to those with minor injuries. There is no mention of providing any job anywhere.Incidentally, compensation for those killed in an air accident is Rs four lakh, and there is no provision for offering any jobs either.‘‘This is a precedent set by Laloo after the last accident near Vadodara, where 17 people had died in a collision between Sabarmati Express and a goods train on April 21, this year. Now that it has been set, successive railway ministers will be forced to follow it,’’ an official said.
