Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday sought a probe by a Supreme Court-appointed judicial commission into the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat and demanded to know why central agencies like the ED and the CBI were not taking action against those responsible for the tragic incident but spared Prime Minister Narendra Modi from her criticism.
“I seek a probe by a Supreme Court-appointed judicial commission into the tragic incident that took place in Gujarat's Morbi. Already many people have died and many are missing. Why are the ED and CBI not taking action against those responsible for the collapse of the bridge?” Mamata said at Calcutta airport before leaving for Chennai on Wednesday.
Although the chief minister criticised the Gujarat government for reopening the bridge in a hurry before the upcoming state elections, she spared Modi from her vitriol, saying he belonged to the state where the tragedy happened.
“I will not speak anything about the Prime Minister as he is from the same state. I don’t want to do politics over the issue as the lives of common people are more important to me than doing politics over the issue,” she said on being asked about her reaction to what Modi had said in 2016 after the Vivekananda Bridge in Calcutta collapsed.
“Such a huge bridge collapsed, what did these people say? They said it is but an act of god. Didi (Mamata), this was not an act of god, but an act of fraud, fraud,” Modi had said on April 7, 2016.
This comment is now doing the rounds on social media, with many Netizens asking if the Gujarat bridge collapse was also the result of an “act of fraud”.
Opposition leaders — of the Congress, Shiv Sena, TRS and Samajwadi Party — and many from civil society have demanded answers from the Prime Minister for the tragedy.
Mamata’s move to spare Modi has raised brows as it comes close on the heels of her remark in September that she did not believe that Modi had unleashed central agencies like the CBI and the ED on Bengal.
Asked to react on what Mamata said, CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty was scathing.
“Chief minister said everything about the bridge collapse but spared Modi with an excuse that he belongs to Gujarat. Trinamul leaders who criticised Modi earlier did not understand her strategy. The question is why is she sparing Modi, in fear or in respect?” Chakraborty said.
A senior Trinamul leader, however, said the party supremo did not want to play the political card on the Morbi bridge tragedy.
like what the Prime Minister did after the bridge collapsed in Calcutta in 2016.
Mamata however pointed out that the Gujarat government neglected the victims and their family members as its prime focus was on the upcoming Assembly polls.
"They did not extend cooperation and coordination for the families of the victims who lost their lives in the accident as the election is more important for them. I want all the families of the victims to get compensation, jobs..," she said.
The chief minister said that she wanted to visit Gujarat but would not go as the BJP would say that she had come to do politics with the issue.
"I want to visit the place but would not go there as they (BJP) would say that I went there to do politics. I don't want to do any politics with the tragic incident. I pay condolences to those who lost their lives in the mishap," added the chief minister.
She also said that the centre which monitors around 1500 bridges in West Bengal including the Howrah bridge in Calcutta should conduct a regular audit on the health condition of these bridges.
"We always audit the health of our bridges which are in maximum number in Bengal. We want the union government to follow the same," she added.
