Vadodara Bridge Collapse: Kharge Slams ‘Leadership Crisis, Corruption’ Under BJP, Congress Demands SIT Probe
After a Gujarat bridge collapse killed 15, Congress blames BJP for 16 such incidents in 4 years, demands CM’s resignation and SIT probe, warning of protests over alleged corruption and negligence.
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) A day after a bridge collapsed in Gujarat, the Congress on Thursday claimed that 16 such incidents took place in the state in the last four years and demanded an SIT to probe them, threatening to take to the streets if its demand is not met.
Seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the opposition party also slammed the BJP over the bridge collapse in Vadodara district, alleging its leadership and government have crossed all limits of indifference as they remain busy in making speeches and issuing advertisements in the name of governance.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that there was a leadership crisis, corruption all around and incompetence prevailing under the BJP rule, and asserted that the people would give a befitting reply when the time comes.
At least 15 people were killed as several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a portion of a four-decade-old bridge collapsed in Vadodara district on Wednesday morning.
A slab of the Gambhira-Mujpur bridge, which connects central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region of the state, collapsed at around 7 am on Wednesday. This caused the vehicles passing through the bridge to plunge into the river.
"Accidents have become a common thing in the country. Sometimes a train accident, sometimes a bridge developing cracks soon after inauguration. The country has not yet recovered from the plane crash and yesterday the news of a bridge collapse came from Gujarat," Kharge said in a post on X in Hindi.
"We have deep condolences for the families of the victims," he said.
Three years ago it was said that the situation was "dangerous" due to "vibrations" in the bridge but still nothing was done, the Congress chief said, citing media reports.
This is the seventh incident of bridge collapse in Gujarat since 2021, he said.
"The BJP leadership and government have crossed all limits of indifference as they remain busy only in making speeches and issuing advertisements in the name of 'governance' in the whole country," Kharge said.
"This is the result of leadership crisis, corruption all around, lack of ability to run the government, and incompetence," he alleged.
It is hoped that the people of the country are seeing this and will give a befitting reply to it when the time comes, Kharge added.
At a press conference here, Congress leader Jignesh Mewani said that due to the collusion of the BJP government in Gujarat and corrupt officers, several accidents have occurred across the state in the past few years.
"The common people had been raising concerns about the Gambhira bridge for quite some time. Our CLP leader Amit Chavda ji himself had raised his voice that the bridge is dilapidated, it needs repairs, it could collapse, but the BJP government did not listen," the Gujarat MLA claimed.
After the bridge collapsed on Wednesday, a woman was screaming and shouting for about 55 minutes, pleading to be saved but in the end, she and her family were rescued by local fishermen, while the local administration was nowhere to be found, Mevani claimed.
"About three years ago in Morbi, due to the government's negligence, 135 people lost their lives. In Rajkot, the public had warned, but the government paid no attention, and in the end, a fire in a gaming zone claimed several lives. In Vadodara, a boat capsized, resulting in the deaths of 14 people, including children. A few months ago, a fire in a factory in Deesa led to the deaths of about 22 people," he said.
"The BJP government in Gujarat seems to have decided that in the state, one must become a part of an accident, lose their life, and take a compensation of Rs 4 lakh -- meaning, the value of a common person's life here is merely Rs 4 lakh," he said.
The Gujarat MLA also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he was having fun abroad, while in Gujarat, innocent citizens were dying.
"In Gujarat, companies that were previously blacklisted are given projects again if they donate to the BJP during elections— companies whose corruption has caused accidents," he alleged.
"In Gujarat, at least 16 bridge collapse incidents have occurred in the last four years, but not a single person has gone to jail in these cases. Our demand is that an SIT be formed to investigate the previous 16 cases, including the recent one," he said.
If the government does not form a team of honest officers to investigate the last 16 cases, the Congress will take to the streets demanding the resignation of the state's chief minister and the home minister.
Congress leader and party's Seva Dal chief Lalji Desai claimed that bridges are collapsing in every district and tehsil in Gujarat.
"The collapse of roads, bridges, canals, and dams, as well as fire incidents, have become very common. As soon as such incidents occur, the home minister comes and says that the culprits will not be spared. But the question is, they will only spare the culprits if they are caught," he said.
"In Gujarat, it’s not just bridges that are collapsing; the entire government has collapsed," he claimed.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
Top Headlines
