Thane mishap: Opposition slams Railway Minister, demands his resignation

Opposition slams Railway Minister The BJP-led governments at the Centre and Maharashtra has come under severe criticism in the wake of the mishap involving local trains in Mumbra in Thane district adjoining Mumbai with many leaders demanding the resignation of Ashwini Vaishnaw as Railway Minister for repeated accidents across India.

According to the opposition parties including the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), said that the incident exposed the lack of safety mechanism of the railway network.

Former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, who is a senior leader of Shiv Sena (UBT) called for the resignation of the Railway Minister with immediate effect.

“This incident is unfortunate but not new—such incidents have happened in the past. We don't know whether he is the Rail Minister or ‘Reel Minister'... He does not focus on the real issues of the railways. It is unfortunate,” Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray said.

Mumbai North Central MP and Mumbai Congress President Prof Varsha Gaikwad said that the incident exposed the lack of safety on the railway network.

“It once again exposes the lack of safety in Mumbai's train networks. We have raised this issue several times in the Parliament too. The Mumbai train networks be it suburban or long distance need a proper policy for crowd management. The railways need better actual management not just image management through reels,” she said, demanding a probe.

NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule said: “Since the train was very crowded, these passengers were hanging from the doors. Traveling in such a manner is dangerous. It is a humble request to the citizens that please do not travel in a dangerous manner. Along with this, the railway administration should also take measures to plan the crowd and prevent possible damage.”

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar said that this tragedy demands not only answers but meaningful policy action to prevent such avoidable incidents in the future. “his should never have happened in the first place had the Indian Railways paid attention to safety of the passengers rather than social media reels. I strongly urge a thorough and transparent inquiry into the incident to uncover the full truth and ensure accountability at every level. All necessary support—financial and medical—should be immediately extended to the families of those who lost their lives, as well as to those who were injured,” he said.

AAP Mumbai Working President Ruben Mascarenhas said: “On an average, 7 people die everyday for the past so many years, in the Mumbai Suburban railway system. This is a national disgrace. Mumbaikars’ lives are cheap. The Railway Minister is incompetent and is busy making reels.”