New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi has appointed former IAS officer and Rajya Sabha member from Odisha Ashwini Vaishnav as the country's railway minister. Vaishnav also holds the charge of additional IT ministry. The IAS officer is considered to be an introduction to his ability to take over as a Rajya Sabha MP and then as railway minister in Modi's cabinet.

Ashwini Vaishnav is working as the youngest Railway Minister of India. He also served as deputy secretary to the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003. Ashwini Vaishnav is a resident of Pali in Rajasthan. But their karmabhoomi has been Odisha. After becoming railway minister, he had tweeted, "Odisha is my karmabhoomi, I want the best blessings of Lord Jagannath to serve the people of Odisha.", the Prime Minister said.

Since the independence of the country, various political parties have formed the government in Odisha. But it is unfortunate that till date railway tracks have not reached all the districts of the State. The situation is such that tribal districts can only be reached by road. Although the map of the railway line has been prepared years ago in government documents, the ground reality is different. It remains to be seen whether during the tenure of the new Railway Minister, how many locomotives run in tribal districts as well as in other districts of Odisha.

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