Suresh Prabhu's Tenure

Suresh Prabhu's Tenure

Definitely one of the most well-remembered Cabinet Ministers in recent times, Suresh Prabhu was moved to the Commerce Ministry from Railways last weekend. There have been umpteen questions on how he has managed to keep his job over the past few weeks, with the rising number of accidents. 

"A recent HuffPost India story estimated that around 238 persons to have lost their lives in "consequential train accidents" during the year 2016-17. Of these, 193 deaths were from derailments alone, the highest-ever number of deaths from such a cause in the 17 years for which data is available". If these reports are true, his head should have been rolled a long time ago. The frequency of such accidents have raised a huge question mark on safety of passengers. 

What Prabhu would be remembered for is his efforts to increase rail infrastructure in the North East. "In the last three years, the ministry under Prabhu was successful in including five northeastern states – Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura – to the broad gauge (BG) map of the country. As many as 29 new trains were introduced in the region in a span of just one year – 2016 to 2017" (The Wire). Though it can be said most of these projects were started in UPA/Vajpayee regimes, he gave the push when needed. He has been extremely instrumental in also strengthening the defense sectors in the Northeast.

Let us wait and watch what steps are taken by the new Railways Minister Piyush Goyal (who apparently has done a great job as a Power Minister).