Kolkata, May 29: A day after the deadly Gyaneshwari express derailment, Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee on Saturday ruled out any sabotage and blamed it all on political conspirators.
The Railway Minister, while addressing a press conference in Kolkata ahead of the West Bengal civic polls, said that the accident was a consequence of political conspiracy.
But she refrained from naming any particular group responsible for the derailment of the ill fated train.
Describing the entire incident a heinous crime, Mamata Banerjee said that no mercy would be shown to those behind the incident.
Centre has agreed to order a CBI probe into the Gyaneswari express derailment, says Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. While refusing to disclose any information of the involvement of any group Mamata said “untile probe is over I can not pinpoint who is responsible for the Gyaneshwari express derailment”.
In a surprising disclosure Mamata said that the track on which the train ran is known as ‘long welded rail track’ that has no fish plates, falsifying the earlier theory of fish plates being removed from the tracks.
“Explosives were placed on the entire track. But yet we could not find out which kind of explosives were they”, Mamata Banerjee said.
Meanwhile Railway Board is taking precautionary measures by suspending late night trains running through dense forest areas.
“For political gains someone has tried to derail the Gyaneshwari express, Mamata said in the press conference.”
Expressing deep grief for all those who lost their lives in the Gyaneshwari express mishap she said “I am grateful to all the locals who have helped in the rescue operation and may God give peace to the departed souls.”
She also thanked all those young civilians who helped during the rescue operation. She added that politics was being played when she was busy in the rescue operation and every one is making the railways a soft target as Railway is the cheapest means of communication for the common people. CPI(M) slams Mamata’s finger-pointing
CPI(M) today rubbished apparent suggestions by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee that the Left party could be behind the Jnaneswari Express disaster in West Midnapore, alleging that she was trying to cover up “serious” lapses and failures of her ministry in the incident.
Senior CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury also said some elements were “cynically” using the situation to further their petty partisan interests and claimed that it was done to influence public opinion before Bengal civic polls.
Yechury said it was Banerjee’s duty to inform the country about her ministry’s preliminary observations on the cause of the derailment that claimed at least 114 lives.
“She has rather chosen to shield the actual culprits by suggesting that Maoists may not be behind the sabotage…The minister continues to maintain that there was a blast that led to the accident while the Home Minister (P Chidambaram) has denied that possibility.
“It is clear that the Railway Minister is seeking to cover up the serious lapses of her leadership in the ministry and its failings in this tragic episode,” Yechury said here.
During the first five months of this year, he said, the number of major railway accidents has been more than in any calender year since 1980.
Without naming any party, Banerjee said in Kolkata that “whoever did it, it was a political conspiracy. The accident has happened two days before the (civic) election. One may be politically against us, but I feel bad that the way the incident was engineered to fulfil one’s political interest.”
Yechury said it was indeed sad that instead of joining the country in the wake of a national tragedy, some elements were “cynically” using the situation to further their petty partisan interests.
He alleged that it was done in order to influence public opinion on the eve of the civic elections in Bengal.
–Agencies