Kolkata:
Minister of State for Railways, Mukul Roy did not visit either Fatehpur, where the Kalka Mail derailed, killing at least 69 people or Rangiya where the Puri Guwahati Express went off the rails because of a blast. Mr Roy denied receiving any orders from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to rush to Rangiya, though sources claimed the PMO had conveyed the orders to him to go.
(Read: Visit train accident site, PM tells Mukul Roy)So why did Mr Roy stay aloof from the twin disasters?
The Minister says the Prime Minister sent another Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa to Uttar Pradesh and the situation in Assam is under control. But sources say he kept a distance because he knew his party colleague Dinesh Trivedi was the top contender for the Railway Minister's job in the Cabinet reshuffle that is imminent. And, that, of course, is a matter of pulls and pressures within the Trinamool.
(Read: Cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday)But the Opposition blames Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for for bowing to pressures of coalition politics and not allotting the Railway Minister's post to anyone for almost 2 months.
"The BJP also is saddened by the plight of the Rail ministry; it is like an orphan now. Look at the PM's weakness; Mamata moved the Railway Board to Kolkata; he never interfered in these matters where as Railways are the largest public sector in the nation. When the PM says it is the compulsion of coalition politics, is the compulsion such that people lose lives? " BJP's JP Nanda said.
(Watch: Train tragedies- Who is to blame?)The Left parties have also slammed the Prime Minister. The CPM politburo has issued a statement saying, "...the Railways have been on a disastrous path under Mamata Banerjee. It has suffered acute neglect and was used for the political ends of the Minister in West Bengal. More than one lakh safety related jobs are lying vacant."
The Congress tried to defend itself. The party's national spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, " Don't accidents happen when ministers are there?"
But with over 100 lives lost in three major train accidents in the last six days, safety seems to have fallen off the Railways' radar, and no one is willing to take the responsibility.