The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday alleged that the collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi was a result of massive corruption by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.
The colonial-era bridge on the Machchu river had snapped on Sunday evening, four days after it was reopened to the public following seven months of renovation. So far, 141 persons have been found dead. Search and rescue operations are continuing.
The police have arrested two managers of Oreva Group – which was given the contract to manage the bridge – as well as two ticket clerks, two contractors and three security guards for negligence leading to the tragedy.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal said that Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has lost the moral right to remain in his post.
“I feel in a state where such a big number of people have died, the chief minister [Bhupendra Patel] has no moral right to continue in the top post,” Kejriwal said. “The state government should resign and Assembly elections should be held immediately.”
He also questioned the Morbi Municipality’s decision to hand over the bridge to the Oreva Group. The firm, which manufactures clocks and e-bikes, was given a contract to maintain the bridge for 15 years.
“It needs to be probed why a watchmaking company [Oreva group] which had no experience of bridge construction was allowed to work?” Kejriwal questioned.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the bridge collapse was not an accident, but a “murder of innocent people by the BJP’s corrupt rule” in Gujarat.
Sisodia also said that those arrested after the incident are smaller employees of the company and its security guards.
He alleged that no first information report has been filed against Oreva Group or its owners. “The BJP must reveal that under whose pressure, the FIR was not registered against the company and its owners,” he demanded.
Also read: Morbi hospital painted ahead of Modi’s visit, Opposition says BJP only known for event management
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