WATCH: Ashwini Vaishnaw Fires Back at ‘Reel Minister’ Jibe: Our Focus is Hard Work

New Delhi: In a heated address to the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw vehemently countered Opposition criticisms regarding recent train derailments. Vaishnaw, visibly angered by being dubbed the “Reel Minister,” defended the current government’s safety measures and accused the previous Congress regime of neglecting railway safety.

Vaishnaw challenged the Opposition, asking, “Those who are shouting here must be asked why they were not able to install Automatic Train Protection (ATP) even for 1 km during their 58 years in power. Today, they dare to raise questions.” This was in response to Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to locomotive drivers in Delhi, which Vaishnaw implied was mere posturing.

“When Mamata Banerjee was the railway minister, she used to give the accident numbers that decreased from 0.24 to 0.19 these UPA people used to clap in the House and today when it has decreased from 0.19 to 0.03, they put such blame”

– Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav pic.twitter.com/TOAX5lvDEM

— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) August 1, 2024

During the Minister’s speech, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party MP Hanuman Beniwal interrupted, calling Vaishnaw a “reel minister” and a “derail minister.” Vaishnaw retorted sharply, telling Beniwal to “please shut up,” and asserted, “We’re not just people who make reels, we’re people who work hard.”

The Opposition has criticised Vaishnaw for allegedly prioritising his social media image over tangible improvements to railway infrastructure. However, Vaishnaw pointed out that during the Congress-led UPA government, the average annual number of accidents was 171, a figure that has decreased by 68% under the BJP government.

Vaishnaw highlighted that during Mamata Banerjee’s tenure as Railway Minister, accident numbers reportedly decreased from 0.24 to 0.19, a figure now reduced further to 0.03 under the current administration. He accused Congress of using social media to spread false claims and instill fear among the 2 crore daily railway passengers.

The debate comes in the wake of several train derailments, including a recent incident on July 30 near Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, where 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed, resulting in two fatalities and 22 injuries.