Political leaders express condolences, demand speeding up of rescue efforts; Congress, PMK and others call for detailed probe into accident

Leaders of major political parties in Tamil Nadu on Saturday expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the train accident in Odisha and demanded that the rescue and relief efforts be expedited.

AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami said he was deeply saddened by the accident, especially by the fact that many people from Tamil Nadu were affected. He urged the Tamil Nadu government to ensure the well-being of the injured and safely bring them back home.

Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran urged the Tamil Nadu Ministers and officials visiting Odisha to help Tamil Nadu people affected in the accident.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K.S. Alagiri termed the accident as unfortunate. Alleging that train accidents had increased in recent years, he blamed it on the Union government’s “lackadaisical” attitude. He lauded the efforts made by the Tamil Nadu government at the rescue and relief of people from the State.

Both Mr. Alagiri and Congress Legislature Party leader K. Selvaperunthagai demanded that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw resign. Mr. Selvaperunthagai said the Railways should find out the reasons for the accident and take measures to ensure that such incidents did not occur in future. He also called for the dismissal of railway officials responsible for the accident.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said the Centre should order a detailed probe. He urged the State government to provide help and sufficient compensation to the families of the deceased and the injured. Party founder S. Ramadoss called for appropriate relief measures and quality treatment to the injured.

‘Inadequate ex gratia’

Tamil Maanila Congress president G.K. Vasan said the ex gratia announced for the families of those who died in the accident was inadequate. He demanded that a family member of each person killed in the accident be given a job in the Railways and the compensation be increased. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced ex gratia of ₹2 lakh for the kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

He said the Railways should have ensured that there were no lapses and demanded that a detailed probe be conducted by a high-level committee to identify the cause.

Naam Tamilar Katchi chief coordinator Seeman said the Centre should find out the reason for the accident. He also called for speeding up relief measures. DMDK founder Vijayakanth urged the Centre to launch a probe and find out the real cause of the accident. He also demanded the resignation of the Railway Minister.

Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan said the accident sent shock waves across the world and was one of the gravest tragedies in Indian history. “Let us stand with those affected and help them recover,” he said.

BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai said the BJP cancelled all programmes that were part of its campaign to publicise the achievements of the Union government in the past nine years. He said BJP functionaries, including Indian Railways’ Passenger Amenities Committee member M.K. Ravichandran, were coordinating the rescue and relief efforts.