In the wake of the Sainthia train mishap and allegations of apathy against Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, BJP on Tuesday said UPA ministers were acting like "independent satraps" and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was "incapacitated" by this attitude.
"The UPA ministers are behaving as independent 'satraps' and the Prime Minister appears to be completely incapacitated at reining in the rampant lack of discipline and total mismanagement of crucial sectors of economy and national life by these ministers," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
Other than Banerjee, BJP named Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and Telecom Minister A Raja, among those "behaving independent" of the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
"The shocking state of disarray and mismanagement of these ministries and the blundering state of affairs is bewildering," he said, adding that despite this Singh and Gandhi were maintaining a "deafening silence" on the matter. "Collective responsibility of the cabinet is completely absent," Rudy alleged. BJP said if Singh had any sensitivity, he should take action.
The main opposition expressed "shock" at the "increasing operational inefficiency of Indian Railways" under the UPA Government. "Gruesome accidents with a heavy toll of innocent human lives have become a regular feature of Indian Railways," Rudy said.
Taking a dig at Banerjee, BJP said her interest in becoming Chief Minister of West Bengal is "proving costly" for the people. The party expressed dismay that she did not accept responsibility for the Sainthia accident and tried to link it to West Bengal politics.
"It is difficult to assess how many people will lose their lives in campaign to become Chief Minister... She does not hold administrative or review meetings. Though she is not responsible for running trains, she needs to control its management," Rudy said.
There have been 13 train accidents in the last 14 months in which nearly 428 people have lost their lives, he claimed. More that 20,000 posts in security sector are lying vacant in Railways, he added. Rudy said the opposition would raise these issues prominently in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha MP compared UPA ministers with Emperor Nero of Rome, who were turning a blind eye to "neglect, rampant corruption, administrative apathy and complete disregard of the concerns and needs of common people". PTI
