Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading from the front. In every natural calamity – disasters and now the tragic rail accident in Odisha’s Balasore – the prime minister has time and again proven that the face of governance has changed. It’s more of a ‘whole of government’ approach and not to forget the ‘humane approach’ of the entire team.
Apart from sending two top union ministers – Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw – to the accident site, Prime Minister Modi held a high-level meeting and immediately rushed to the accident site. The opposition raised all sorts of questions, but generations have seen the tragic accidents and visits by earlier rail ministers.
According to government sources, such visits in the pre-Modi era were more of a photo op than monitoring relief and restoration works.
Photo-op rail mantris vs full-time rail mantris
In the past, we saw that rail ministers’ actions were only limited to photo ops during accidents. Sources said ministers like Mamata Banerjee played politics even then. Here, we have a railway minister who has been at the spot over the past 30 hours and is tirelessly involved in rescue and relief. He is monitoring the investigation into the cause of the accident and keeping the PM informed on all the developments.
‘All of government’ approach
While the accident is gruesome, a stark contrast is how all agencies are working together unlike the silo approach in the past. Railways, ministry of home affairs and officials of National Disaster Response Force are working in sync. The health minister is also on the ground and trying to ensure that all facilities are being provided for medical treatment so as to minimise the loss.
Even Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik is working in close coordination with the central team, which has smoothened out rescue and relief operations. This has set an example for other states as well.
Opposition propaganda vs full transparency
While the opposition was engaged in spreading propaganda on reasons behind the accident and implementation of Kavach, the government was proactive and transparent. Not only did the government share details about the accident, it has also been transparent with the number of casualties.
Even before PM Modi’s visit, top government sources brushed aside the opposition’s allegations of a collision of trains and made it clear that it was the derailment of only one train – the Coromandel Express – that impacted the stationary goods train in the loop line and the last few coaches of the Yesvantpur Express. Both the trains were travelling at the same speed and the losses were minimal in the Howrah-Yesvantpur Express.
Vaishnaw is still at the spot and entirely in the grip of the situation. His presence along with the PM’s continuous monitoring has ensured that inquiry and rescue operations are complete. Now the target is to restore movement of trains on the affected lines.
Every accident teaches a valuable lesson, but the Narendra Modi-led government, with its healing touch, has certainly sent out a message that this is the government with a humane approach.
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