There are issues to be fixed in India’s railway network, but demanding minister Vaishnaw’s resignation is not a solution

It will take some time for the nation to recover from the collective trauma of one of India’s deadliest train accidents. Others may move on, but the world won’t be the same for the families who lost their loved ones — a sole breadwinner, a parent, a daughter, a son. Before the news cycle inevitably moves to newer topics, however, we need to focus on fixing the accountability for the incident that has so far caused  275 deaths and left thousands injured. Some 1,200 people are still being treated. Along with relief and rescue operations and restoration of services — that is the immediate emphasis — we need to ensure that a robust system is put in place that does not let such a grievous tragedy occur ever again. It is not clear, however, that that purpose will be served by forcing the Union railway minister to resign, as the Opposition is widely clamouring for. In democracies, the cut and thrust of politics includes the performative art of virtue-signalling, and the theatrics frequently become repugnant. Consider West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s  sordid attempt at inflating the number of the deceased, a foul narrative that she still insists on spreading. Before we wade into that debate and address the larger question, however, it is worth recollecting the developments as we know so far. The accident, the probe for which has now been taken over by the CBI, took place on Friday evening when the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, ferrying around 1500 commuters, entered the wrong track and rammed into a stationary freight train at a speed of around 128 kmph near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore district. That the goods train, static on the adjacent loop line, was laden with iron ore made matters even worse. The derailed, dismembered, passenger-filled bogies of Coromandel Express turned turtle and in turn crashed into the last few bogies of the oncoming Yeshwantpur-Howrah Superfast, which was coincidentally passing through the area at a speed of around 126kmph on the down main line. From the information shared by railway officials, it is evident that Coromandel Express shouldn’t have entered the loop line that ultimately caused the massacre. The fact that it did, is owing to what preliminary reports indicate as “signal failure”, or as railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, a “change in electronic interlocking”. ‘Electronic interlocking’ (EI) is a fail-safe safety mechanism that is governed by a computer-based intelligent software system designed to precisely prevent these sorts of accidents. In the rare case that it malfunctions, all adjoining signals turn red as a precautionary measure. This system ensures that signals are cleared to proceed only when the route ahead is safe and clear. Media reports point out that under this system, the cabin station master “cannot move the points on his own if there is another train in front of the train which has just arrived. In such a scenario, the second train will be halted.” If that is the case, and the Bahanga Bazar station is fitted with the smart EI system, the question that needs to be answered is, how did the accident take place? At this point, there are no answers except speculations. While the minister has hinted at human involvement without clarifying whether it was an error or a malicious act, Firstpost quotes unnamed railway officials as saying, that “in this case, the point should have been set on the normal line and not on the loop line. The point was set on the loop line, it is something that cannot happen without human interference.” We will have to wait for the official inquiry to get closer to the truth. It seems, however, beyond “human error”, foul play or irresponsible behaviour cannot be ruled out. The first sign is handing the probe over to the CBI for a “criminal investigation” into the incident. Second, minister Vaishnaw’s remark that “the exact cause of the train accident and those responsible have been identified. A thorough study is being done before making the report public. Those behind the accident will not be spared.” His views were echoed by the prime minister who said “the guilty would be severely punished” during his site visit on Saturday. There are several aspects to be considered as the Opposition mounts pressure on the Modi government to sack Vaishnaw. Has the minister been responsive? By all accounts, from the moment of the tragedy, the Indian state has thrown all its might behind relief and rescue operations — roping in the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), fire units and local police in Odisha, the Army and the Indian Air Force in a coordinated exercise. The minister has been camping at the site for the last two days and overseeing a rescue operation involving the forces and hundreds of volunteers. Within a span of 51 hours, the affected tracks have become operational and normal services have resumed. This is only to be expected. The larger question is, has the minister been guilty of dereliction of duty? While accountability for such a horrific incident must be laid at Vaishnaw’s door, does that imply that his sacking is the solution to fix the woes of India’s railway network? On the contrary, the minister’s competence has never been in question. Vaishnaw is not among the power-hungry politicians that dot the line of the Indian political stage. He is an efficient technocrat handpicked by Modi to modernize India’s colonial-era network which is undergoing brisk development. An ex-IAS officer from Odisha cadre, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Vaishnaw has overseen a transformation of Indian Railways , a process that started with his predecessor Suresh Prabhu. It includes  record spending by the Modi government on railway infrastructure. In an article published in March this year, British newspaper The Economist, a known and severe critic of Modi, admitted that India is getting “an eye-wateringly big transport upgrade” that includes a complete overhauling of the country’s railway network. According to The Economist report , “the country is experiencing an infrastructural makeover on a scale unprecedented outside China” and “the pace of the buildout is remarkable”. Under the Modi government, railway stations are getting rapidly modernised and pace of track electrification has progressed at a rapid clip. For instance, since Independence till 2014, only 21,413 route kilometres (RKM) of railway tracks were electrified. In contrast, the past nine years have seen 37,011 route kilometres (RKM) of tracks being electrified , an increase of 73 per cent. Train crashes in India are far fewer today though the number is still embarrassingly high. The tragedy is a grim reminder that a lot still needs to be done in terms of safety and predictability as India moves into the next stage of development with Vande Bharat trains and high-speed lines. The letter written by Mallikarjun Kharge to the prime minister, where the Congress president accuses Modi of “ ignoring red flags ” raises some pertinent questions. Yet the demand for resignation demands closer scrutiny and pushback. India would be better served if the person at the helm of responsibility is made accountable for failures and lacunae in the system, and if public pressure is focused on getting tangible, verifiable, time-bound results instead of resignation theatrics. The minister’s competence and work ethic, under tremendous pressure from the public and the Opposition, has been commendable. This is not to absolve the culprits or shield responsibility, but to point out that resignation is a cop-out. The tougher task is to admit failure, accept the burden and work through failure to turn it around. Resigning is not a solution. If anything, it is counterproductive. It makes the terrible tragedy solely a moral issue. Frequent calls for resignation distract from real issues that need urgent and sustained attention because moral ownership becomes the focal point of public pressure, which then gets dissipated once a new person takes over. As India grows, rises, and takes its rightful place in the world, its leaders must show more maturity instead of puerile histrionics. The minister is a hardworking, capable technocrat. He deserves another chance. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .