Demands for the resignation of the Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, following the devastating train collision in the Balasore district have reignited the debate on the merits of such demands. While resignation by itself can never be a quick fix solution to the creaky affairs of the Indian Railway infrastructure or even a legal mandate, it is still pertinent to examine arguments of its efficacy, both for, and against.
Let’s be upfront, the first, rote, and loudest criticism of the resignation demand is that it is a 'political demand’. It is. But that does not delegitimise it, or make it irrelevant as every criticism of governance is indeed political. In a democracy, the political 'voice’ of the opposition is as important as the dispensation of the day to hold the powers that be, to accountability, responsibility, and ultimately to corrective actions.