New Delhi, Apr 14: Expressing shock at volleyball player Arunima Sinha being thrown out of a train in Bareilly, BJP today held both Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati responsible for the incident.
"BJP is shocked at the incident of a lady being thrown out from a train. She is a volleybal player of national stature. She was lying unattended on the railway tracks for six hours. This is tragic and absolutely shocking," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Holding both Banerjee and Mayawati responsible for the incident, she said while it shows how unsafe women passengers are in trains it is also an index of the poor law and order scenario in Uttar Pradesh.
"This is an utter failure of Mamata Banerjee's Railways. Shows the inefficiency with which the Railways is functioning and how there is no safety for women passengers. She should leave her election campaigning for a day and meet the victim to see for herself why this incident took place," Sitharaman said.
BJP has demanded that Banerjee accept responsibility for the incident and fix accountability of Government Railway Police and other Railways officials in the sloppiness shown in handling the case.
"The future of this lady has been shattered. An inquiry should be conducted into how this incident had come to pass.
Both Railways and UP government are equally responsible for this state of affairs. Women are not safe in UP," she said.
The opposition party lamented the fact that such an incident had taken place despite women at the helm of affairs of both Railways and UP.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari termed the incident as "extremely unfortunate, tragic and regrettable" and demanded that all the agencies which had the responsibilty to provide a safe train journey to the player should ensure that she is properly rehabilitated.
Noting that rehabilitation does not just mean compensation, he said the agencies concerned should also try to give her a purpose of life.
On the volleyball player lying on the tracks for six hours after being thrown out of the train, Tewari said it reflected the poor law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. PTI
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