Don't know about Ashwini Vaishnaw but I had resigned as railway minister: Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar did not directly ask Ashiwini Vaishnaw to resign but citing his own example said that he had resigned as railway minister after the train accident in 1999 in West Bengal.

Patna:Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday hit out at Narendra Modi-led government over the Odisha train accident saying he had resigned as railway minister when a train accident had occurred during his tenure.

Without commenting on whether railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw should resign, Kumar said he had resigned from the railway minister's post after the 1999 train accident in West Bengal. "I went to the then Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and expressed my desire to resign. But, the PM rejected my resignation letter. Then, I again went to him and with folded hands requested him to relieve me of my duties as I was extremely hurt after seeing the condition of the victims following the train accident. It was only after approaching the PM twice that my resignation was accepted," Kumar told reporters.

He further said that when train accidents occurred during his tenure as railway minister, one or two people resigned but now status quo remains despite the mishaps. "Why would I ask anyone to resign. I am just sharing what I did in the past," he said while responding to whether he wanted Vaishnaw to resign.

The chief minister further alleged that issues pertaining to the railways were not being addressed properly as the Centre does not table a separate railway budget as it used to do earlier. He said when he was the railway minister, they used to work throughout the night to prepare the budget before tabling it the next day in the House.

"The new government has no sense. They eliminated the railway budget totally. It would have been much better if things were same as before in the railways. During that time transparency was maintained and people knew whatever decision was being taken in the ministry. But, nowadays railways is completely isolated," Kumar said.