Odisha Train Accident: Know previous instances when Railway Ministers resigned | Oneindia News

The death toll from the Odisha train mishap has now climbed to over 280.

Yesterday’s accident was one of the deadliest train accidents in the history of India.

With so many fatalities, the question which a lot of people have on their mind is whether the Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaisnav will resign by taking the moral responsibility for it.

There has been no hint so far from the Minister or the Union govt so far on this aspect.

All hands are on deck in the rescue operations currently and the entire machinery is working as a cohesive unit.

Infact, In the history of Independent India, only two people have resigned as Railway Ministers taking moral responsibility for mishaps during their tenure.

In the August of 1956, there was a major railway accident in Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh, killing as many as 112 people.

Taking moral responsibility for the accident, Shastri tendered his resignation to the PM, but Nehru persuaded Shastri to withdraw his resignation.

A few months later in November 1956, there was yet another railway accident in Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu.

This tragedy resulted in 144 deaths.

Shastri promptly submitted his resignation to the PM and pleaded for its early acceptance.

This second resignation offered by Shastri attracted nation-wide attention.

When it appeared that Nehru seemed inclined to accept the resignation, thirty MPs appealed to Nehru not to let Shastri go.

They were of the view that while Shastri should be lauded for having offered to resign, his resignation should not be accepted, as he was not personally responsible for the accident.

The mishap was on account of technical failure for which the railways board should take responsibility.

The parliamentarians were clear that the bureaucracy should take the blame and not the political executive.

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