Leaders wouldn't be cowed by BJP's politics of revenge: Cong

May 16, 2017

New Delhi, May 16: The Congress today said that none of its leaders or that of the opposition would be cowed down by the politics of "revenge and vendetta" which had "become the DNA of this BJP government".

surjewala
The party accused the BJP of being blinded by revenge to target its opponents and said that it would continue to expose the saffron party before the people.

The remarks came after government agencies searched Congress leader P Chidambaram's premises and properties allegedly linked to RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

The AICC incharge of communications, Randeep Surjewala said, "The truth is that revenge has become the DNA of the BJP government."

"We want to reiterate that neither P Chidambaram, nor any Congress leader or any other leader of opposition, would be deterred or cowed down from fear of the politics of revenge and vendetta," he said.

Surjewala, instead, accused the BJP and its leaders of being corrupt as he highlighted the alleged scams involving top party leaders holding ministerial positions in this government.

"May we ask the prime minister, that if the yardstick is morality, why is he shying away from ordering an inquiry into the Sahara-Birla excel sheets in which he himself has been named repeatedly about having taken bribes," he alleged.

Surjewala also asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not take action on the Rs 20,000 crore loss caused to public exchequer in Gujarat State Petroleum scam when he himself was the chief minister.

The Congress leader wondered whether the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh was corruption and asked why the Modi did not take action against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan whose name allegedly cropped up in the scam.

He claimed that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj allegedly helped people like Lalit Modi who escaped from the country and were wanted by investigative agencies for alleged money laundering.

Surjewala asked who were the people who helped fugitives like Vijay Mallya escape the country.

He said the Congress leaders would continue to tell the country how one autocratic ruler cannot suppress the voice of dissent and those who disagree with them.

Surjewala claimed that the truth was out there for everybody to judge and the government, blinded by revenge, was registering false cases against opposition leaders.

Chidambaram earlier today said, "The government, using the CBI and other agencies, is targeting my son and his friends. The government's aim is to silence my voice and stop me from writing, as it has tried to do in the cases of leaders of opposition parties, journalists, columnists, NGOs and civil society organisations."

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News Network
December 20,2025

train.jpg

At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services. 

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.

The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi). 

Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-

•    0361-2731621
•    0361-2731622
•    0361-2731623

The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.

Train Services Disrupted

Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.

Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.

The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.

Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. The incident took place on November 30. 

The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was discovered lying injured beside the tracks. 

Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years

At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry had informed Parliament in August.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said the figure is based on reports from state governments and Union Territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in designated elephant corridors.

Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.

The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents.

These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.

The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure' to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.

Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.

A detailed report titled 'Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India' had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.

Of these, 77 stretches spanning 1,965 km in 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, with site-specific interventions suggested. 

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