Train mishap: The PM should resign, says Rajnath

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajnath Singh on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of Kalka Mail accident which killed 69 persons and left 249 injured.

Singh, who visited a hosptial here to meet those injured in the accident said the prime minister should follow the example of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had resigned following a train mishap in 1956.

He said Singh should resign as he was was holding charge of the railways ministry when the accident occurred on Sunday.

"If PM takes such a decision (to resign), the people will respect him," the former BJP president said. He also demanded that compensation amount to the victims both from the Centre and the state should be doubled or tripled.

Modernisation of the railways is the only way to avoid such accidents in future, he said.