Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav must be removed from the cabinet: Harshvardhan Sapkal

The tragic incident where six commuters fell from a local train near Mumbra station and lost their lives is extremely painful and heartbreaking. It’s shocking that people still have to travel by hanging from overcrowded trains, risking their lives just to get to work. This was not just an accident—it’s a result of the BJP government's negligence. There should be a proper investigation, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw must be held accountable and removed from the cabinet, said Harshvardhan Sapkal, the state Congress president.

Speaking about the incident, Sapkal said that for the last eleven years, people in Mumbai and Maharashtra have only heard promises about improving infrastructure and making travel safer. Instead of real development, the focus has been on awarding contracts and earning commissions. The ruling party, officials, and contractors have gained wealth, while ordinary citizens are paying the price with their lives. The government must stop organising flashy events and take immediate action to ensure safe travel for Mumbaikars.

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Local trains are Mumbai’s lifeline, with nearly 7.5 million people using them daily. But this journey is extremely difficult. Every person who leaves home worries about whether they’ll make it back safely. Overcrowding leads to daily accidents—people lose their lives or suffer serious injuries. While meetings and discussions keep happening, there is little real progress. Every time an accident happens, there are promises to install automatic doors on local trains, but nothing is done. The railway administration is slow and unresponsive.

All political parties have raised the issue of local train safety, but both the government and railway officials continue to ignore it. While the BJP government focuses on the bullet train project, what Mumbaikars really need is a safe and reliable local train system. The government must stop playing with people’s lives and take this issue seriously, said Sapkal.