Amritsar: AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira from Bholath in Punjab came under fire after he trivialised the Amritsar train accident and said 'small accidents' like these keep happening.

On Friday, at least 61 people were killed and more than 77 were injured after a speeding train coming from Jalandhar ran over the crowd watching fireworks during Ravana dahan at a ground adjacent to the tracks.

Also read: Amritsar train accident: Witnesses claim driver is lying, train didn’t even slow down

The MLA said that such accidents were quite common and that more than 8 to 10 people died every day in accidents across the country.

"As many as 5,000 people die in road accident in Punjab per year. These small accidents like the one in Amritsar happen every day across the country," Khera added.

A day after the accident, Khaira took to Twitter and said that the death toll is false and it is much more than claimed. But later, he said the accident has been in focus of the media and others for unnatural reasons.

The leader later deleted the tweet. He was condemned and trolled for his comment.

Khaira was not available for comments when MyNation tried connecting with him.