Congress steps up attack

The Congress on Wednesday stepped up attack on Suresh Prabhu demanding his removal as railway minister.

The fresh attack came hours after Prabhu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dropped ample hints that he had offered to step down as minister accepting responsibility for the railway accident in Uttar Pradesh that killed 23 people.

“This responsibility business will not do. Either the prime minister should sack the railway minister or accept his resignation,” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.

He said Prabhu had ‘utterly failed’ as minister and dared him to face the media instead of making comments on Twitter about his meeting with the prime minister.

If the prime minister accepts Prabhu’s resignation, it would be the first casualty from the Modi government on account of non-performance.

Modi had strongly defended his Union ministers, including Sushma Swaraj, who was in the eye of the storm for reportedly helping former IPL boss Lalit Modi get travel papers from the British government.

Referring to several accidents in the past three years, the Congress asked Modi to appoint a responsible person as railway minister who could lay down a safety map and implement the prime minister’s vision for the sector.

DH News Service