In the wake of two railway accidents in five days, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that he met Prime Minister Modi and accepted "full moral responsiblility" for the incidents.
Prabhu further said that Modi "asked me to wait," hinting that he offered to resign.
"Extremely pained by unfortunate accidents, injuries to passengers and loss of precious lives. It has caused me deep anguish," said Prabhu.
Earlier in the day, Railways Board chairman Ashok Mittal also submitted his resignation to Prabhu. The move comes after as many as 74 passengers being injured as nine bogies of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in UP's Auraiya district early today.
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He said in less than three years as the railway minister, he had devoted his "blood and sweat" to the Railways.
"Undr leadership of PM, tried 2 overcome decades of neglect thru systemic reforms in all areas leading 2 unprecedented investment and milestones," he said in a series of tweets.
The Union Minister of Defence and Finance Arun Jaitley has welcomed Prabhu's statement saying that "accountability is good system in the government. "
There have been two back-to-back accidents in the last five days, triggering demands for the minister's resignation. Earlier, over 20 people had died when the Utkal Express had derailed near Muzaffarnagar. The Government on Sunday suspended four railway officials and sent Northern Railway General Manager R.N. Kulshrestha on leave.
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With Agency Inputs
