Kolkata, Jul 12: Mukul Roy, the Minister of State in the Railway Ministry has stayed aloof from the twin train disasters. On Monday, Jul 11 Roy remained non-committal though PM Manmohan Singh directed him to visit the train accident site in Assam. But, Roy giving a cold shoulder to PM's direction, chose to accompany his party chief, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee to Jangalmahal.

Infact, Roy refused to take the blame for the latest train accidents. "I am not the railway minister, the PM is," he said. Roy said the Prime Minister had sent another Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa to Uttar Pradesh and the situation in Assam is under control.

According to sources, Roy's such indifference might be due to the fact that he has lost out to party colleague Dinesh Trivedi in the race for a cabinet berth. Roy said, “There is no need for me to go to the accident site now."

Roy, MoS for shipping, was given the additional charge of railways after Mamata Banerjee quit the railway minister"s post to take charge as West Bengal chief minister.

BJP's JP Nanda said "The BJP also is saddened by the plight of the Rail ministry; it is like an orphan now. Look at the PM's weakness; Mamata moved the Railway Board to Kolkata; he never interfered in these matters where as Railways are the largest public sector in the nation. When the PM says it is the compulsion of coalition politics, is the compulsion such that people lose lives?"

OneIndia News