Odisha train accident: Congress chief Kharge asks 11 questions to PM Modi

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a CBI probe into the Odisha railway tragedy.

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Odisha triple train wreck tragedy, posing 11 key questions to the latter to answer while damning Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw of having exposed of making "all the empty safety claims" and demanding the government reveal the real reasons that caused the country's one of the deadliest since Independence.

Here is the reproduction of 11 questions from Kharge:

1. At present about 3 lakh posts are lying vacant in Indian Railways. In fact in the East Coast Railway, the site of this tragic accident about 8278 posts are vacant. It's the same story of apathy and negligence even in the case of senior positions, where both the PMO and the Cabinet Committee play a crucial role in appointments. There were more than 18 lakh railway employees in the decade of nineties, which have now been reduced to about 12 lakh, of which, 3.18 lakh are employed on contractual basis. Vacant posts pose a threat to the assured jobs of people who belong to SC/ST/OBC and EWS. It's a pertinent question to ask-why have such a high number of vacancies not been filled over the last 9 years?
2. The Railway Board itself has recently admitted that loco pilots have had to work longer hours than mandated due to manpower shortage. Loco pilots are crucial to safety and their overburden is proving to be the main cause of accidents Why have their positions not been filled yet?
3. On February 8, 2023, the Principal Chief Operating Manager of South West Zonal Railway, referred to the collision of two trains in Mysore, and asserted the need to repair the signaling system and had also forewarned about potential accidents in the future due to this flaw. But why and how could the Ministry of Railways ignore this crucial warning?
4. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its 323rd Report (dated December 2022) has criticized the complete apathy and negligence of the Railway Board towards recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS). The report further revealed how the CRS investigates only 8% to 10% of train accidents. Why has no effort been made to make CRS stronger and ensure its autonomy? Read- Besides, 1.31 trillion budget, do safety matters for Indian railways?
5. The latest audit report of CAG, makes a special mention of how between 2017-18 to 2020- 21, about 7 out of 10 train accidents happened due to derailment from tracks. But this was erroneously ignored. Between 2017-21, there was zero testing of Rail and Weld (Track Maintenance) for safety in East Coast Railway. Why were these grave red flags ignored? Read-2022 CAG report on ‘Derailments in Indian Railways’ flagged multiple shortcomings
6. The CAG report also highlights that funding for the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) has been reduced by a massive 79%. It was claimed during the budget presentation that about Rs 20,000 crore would be available annually, but this was not done. Why were the required funds not allocated for track renewal work? Is this not being callous about the safety of passengers?
7. Why was the previous government's plan to roll out the anti-train-collision system. originally named Raksha Kavach put on the back burner? This system was developed by the Konkan Railway and tested successfully by the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) in 2011, it was meant to prevent collision of trains. Your government simply renamed the scheme Kavach and in March 2022, the Railway Minister himself projected the rechristened scheme as a new novel invention. But the question still remains. Why have only a measly 4% of routes of Indian Railways been protected by Kavach till now? Read-What is 'Kavach' safety system lack of which allegedly caused Odisha triple train accident
8. What was the reason for merging the Budget for Indian Railways with the Union Budget in 2017-18? Has this not adversely affected the autonomy and decision making capacity of Indian Railways? Was this done to undermine the autonomy of Railways to push reckless privatisation? Even though privatisation of Railways was repeatedly opposed during Parliamentary proceedings, all concerns have been ignored by bringing trains to stations under the ambit of brazen privatisation. It's apparent that the government's arbitrary decision making including the National Rail Plan for up to 2050 without any consultation or detailed discussion is aimed at exploiting the railways and making it an easy target and fodder for private companies. Read-BJD stages protest against Centre for allocating Rs 1,000 for Odisha's Mayurbhanj in railway budget
9. A huge entity like the Indian Railways has brought respite to all sections of the society since independence. But it's puzzling to comprehend, who has been the beneficiary of the decision to withdraw concessions that were being given to the elderly, children and women during the pandemic? The insensitivity is evident when upper berths are being allotted to the elderly and women, who are also being forced to face different kinds of problems now. Read- No plan to resume fare concession for senior citizens, sportspersons: Railway Minister
10. Unfortunately, the people in charge your goodself and Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav do not want to admit that there are problems. The Railway Minister claims to have already found a root cause, but yet has requested the CBI to investigate. The CBI is meant to investigate crimes, not railway accidents The CBI, or any other law enforcement agency, cannot fix accountability for technical, institutional and political failures. In addition, they lack the technical expertise in railway safety, signalling, and maintenance practices. Read- "Instead of standing with people, they're abusing me, Nitishji, Laluji:" Mamata swipe at Centre on Odisha train tragedy
11. The nation still remembers the 2016 derailment in Kanpur, where 150 people lost their lives. The Railway Minister asked the NIA to investigate. Subsequently, you yourself claimed in an election rally in 2017 that there was a "conspiracy". The nation was assured that strictest punishment would be meted out. However, in 2018, the NIA closed the investigation and refused to file a chargesheet. The nation is still in the dark-who is responsible for 150 avoidable deaths?