New Delhi, Feb. 16 -- The Congress on Sunday demanded immediate resignation of Union Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav over the death of 18 people during a stampede at New Delhi railway station on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged "criminal negligence" on the part of the government and said the "failure of railway administration" led to the deaths.

The party expressed its condolences to the bereaved families. "Rail minister Ashwani Vaishnav must resign with immediate effect...the railway minister does not have any moral right to stay in his position," she said.

Shrinate said "about 1500 general tickets were issued every hour yesterday" at the New Delhi railway station and asked why ...