Bhubaneswar, Jan. 22: Not even a day has passed since at least 39 people died in Hirakhand Express accident, but the political blame game here has begun.

Political parties are trying to gain mileage from the accident, keeping the ensuing panchayat election in mind.

BJD and Congress today slammed the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for not taking adequate measures to strengthen safety measures in the railways.

"The Centre is talking of bullet trains and boasts of taking steps to modernise the railways. But it has utterly failed in taking adequate safety measure to instil a sense of confidence in minds of the commuters. Over 400 people have been killed in train accidents in the country over a year," BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said. "We deeply mourn the deaths of the passengers but at the same time we will communicate our feelings, our party's stand on this issue to railway minister Suresh Prabhu. We will urge him to attach priority to the safety aspects of the passengers in the coming railway budget."

Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said: "The rise in the number of rail accidents in the country is a major cause of concern. The Centre should accord top priority to railway safety. The ex-gratia compensation should be enhanced to Rs 10 lakh for the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for critically hurt and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injury."

Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra said: "The Modi government is not talking steps for the safety of passengers. Empty vessels make a lot of noise. They are only busy talking. Besides, the compensation amount declared by the Centre is too small. Keeping in mind the high cost of living, the compensation amount should be much more."

Raising questions about the probe ordered by the Centre, Mishra said: "The railway authorities used to order probes by the commissioner of railway safety into accidents. But nobody knows about the findings of the inquiry reports and steps the railways took to strengthen the system according to their recommendations."

However, the state BJP defended the Centre. Senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari said: "It's not easy to rectify all the shortcomings in the railway sector over the last 100 years. It will take time and nothing will change overnight. Always finding fault with the Centre will not be accepted by the people. Instead of criticising the Centre, everyone should work in tandem for the development of the country."