Morbi bridge collapse: opposition parties corner BJP

The bridge was crowded because of Chhath celebrations.

In the wake of the collapse of a British-era bridge in Gujarat's Morbi, in which 141 people have died, opposition parties have cornered the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), blaming it for the incident.

The incident comes at a time when political parties – the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), BJP, and Congress – are campaigning extensively in the poll-bound state. Polls in the state will have to be held before February 2023, when the term of the present assembly runs out.

The Congress party has termed the incident a man-made tragedy, alleging corruption in the project to repair the suspension bridge. Quoting a 2016 news report, veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He tweeted: “Modiji, is the Morbi bridge accident an Act of God or an Act of Fraud?"

In 2016, while addressing a rally at Madarihat in north Bengal, the Prime Minister said that the Kolkata flyover tragedy was “god's message” to people to save Bengal from the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Vivekananda Road flyover collapsed in Kolkata on March 31, 2016, killing 26 people.

Another Congress leader, Randeep Surjewala, asked several questions in a series of tweets. He asked,” Isn’t it a criminal conspiracy? How was the bridge thrown open to the public without obtaining a fitness certificate?”

Surjewala further asked, “Was this done in a hurry to garner votes before the model code of conduct came into force? How was repairing work given to a company? Do they have connections with the BJP?”

The bridge on the Machchhu river was recently opened to the public on the occasion of the Gujarati New Year, on October 26. On Sunday evening, hundreds of people, including men, women, and children were seen on the suspension bridge, when its supporting cables snapped. Many people had gathered for Chhath puja rituals also.

CPI leader Binoy Viswam also criticised the BJP, claiming that the bridge pointed to the “gross negligence” of the state government. Meanwhile, the BJP says the government is focusing on rescue and relief operations on the ground.

All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) supremo Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted: “The BJP government must prosecute the culprits. The compensation announced by the BJP government to the family members of the deceased is not enough.”

Tweeting in Hindi, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Manoj Singh said, “The country is trying to find out whether the tragedy in poll-bound Gujarat was an Act of God or Act of Fraud!”

The Gujarat government has appointed a five-member committee to probe into the collapse of the bridge. BJP leaders said the incident should not be politicised.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Chief Minister’s office has announced that the Prime Minister will visit Morbi on November 1. Speaking at the Rashtriya Ekta Divas in Narmada district’s Kevadia, Modi said, “I am in Ekta Nagar, but my heart is with the victims of Morbi.” He condoled the deaths due to the bridge collapse.

Chief Minister Bhupender Patel and Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghvi are on the field, looking into the relief and rescue operations. AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been attacking the BJP in Gujarat over several issues, has canceled his roadshow in Haryana’s Adampur for the upcoming by-poll for the assembly seat there.