New Delhi:
After an express train ran over 28 pilgrims crossing rail tracks in Bihar on Monday, a war of words has exploded between state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Railway Ministry he once headed.
Nitish Kumar reacted strongly to Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Choudhury's statement blaming his government for not informing the railways about the rush of pilgrims at the time.
"The Minister has made a highly irresponsible statement and he has made a fool of himself," said the Chief Minister in an uncharacteristically sharp response today.
Adhir Ranjan Choudhury had, during a visit to the accident site in Bihar on Tuesday, said that the onus was on the state government, which should have prepared the Railways for the crush of pilgrims on "Somvaari" or the last Monday of the holy sawan month considered auspicious by Hindus.
"What happened was all because of the Bihar government. The Nitish Kumar government is solely responsible," the minister had said.
The Dhamara Ghat station where the accident took place on Monday morning was crowded with Kanwarias, or devotees of Lord Shiva, who were crossing over the rail tracks after visiting a popular Shiva temple nearby. The area is poorly connected, with no roads.
The incident triggered rioting in the station as angry mobs assaulted the driver, took railway staff hostage and burnt trains even as bodies lay for hours on the tracks.