The Game of Blame

While the bodies of the 67 deceased in the mishap at Sainthia were still under the wreckage waiting to be rummaged through, ministers and spokesperson from different political parties had already gone live on media accusing Mamata Banerjee. They were so engrossed in launching diatribes on the Railways Minister that they became completely oblivious to the moot issue. I am no proponent of the TMC, but I am sure that there would have been hardly any difference had the Railways Minister been from a different political party. The core problem is 3-fold: a) lack of maintenance in the existing infrastructure including the signalling systems, b) lack of inclination to modernise the same, and c) lack of properly trained personnel. The points a) and c) or a combination of both is being seen as the main reason for this mishap. However, b) is equally significant to the whole issue. Every budget carries along with it a long list of new trains, when the Minister is from Bihar- the Garib Raths, when from West Bengal- the Durontos. But the tracks they run on remain the same. Given the apparent increase in frequencies of the passing trains, an upgrade of the age-old railway lines becomes indispensable. However, instead of logically finding solutions to the problems faced by the country, our politicians allude the common man to the more “relevant” game of blame and happily take home incomes from the “Party Fund” (and we all know where it comes from). In the garb of whiteness of their traditional kurtas, they are vultures as dark as the inside of a coal mine at midnight, who feed off practically anything. Some won’t even leave couples spending time together on Valentine’s Days alone. Hoping that India counters the formidable deep-rooted negativities and shine bright in the coming days seems to be a little too hopeful, to say the least.