After ‘derailment min’ jibe, Vaishnaw says focus is on railways, not reels

“Our focus is on railways, not reels,” said Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday, (August 1). He was responding to the Opposition's criticism following recent railway accidents.

As the Opposition raised slogans of “Ashwini Vaishnaw haye haye" (down with Ashwini Vaishnaw) during a heated parliamentary session, Vaishnaw remarked, "Hum reel banane wale log nahi, mehnat karne wale log hain” (We are not people who make reels, we are people who work hard).

He continued, “When Mamata Banerjee was the Railway Minister and the accident numbers decreased from 0.24 to 0.19, they used to applaud. Now, when it has increased from 0.19 to 0.3, they blame us. Will this country run this way? Congress, with its troll army on social media, is spreading falsehoods. Are they trying to instill fear in the two crore people who travel by rail daily?”