Congress slams Gujarat govt over series of tragic mishaps
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, senior Congress leaders Jignesh Mevani and Lalji Desai expressed deep concern over the collapse of the Gambhira bridge which has claimed several lives with many missing.
"The local people had been raising concerns about the condition of the Gambhira bridge for quite some time," Mevani said. "Our CLP leader Amit Chavda had repeatedly warned that the bridge was in a dilapidated condition and needed urgent repairs. Yet the BJP government chose to ignore these warnings, and now, innocent lives have been lost.'
The Vadgam MLA further said that a woman had cried out for help for nearly an hour after the collapse, pleading for her family to be saved. 'In the end, it was local fishermen who rescued them, while the government and administration were completely missing,' he added.
Mevani also pointed to a series of recent disasters in Gujarat that he attributed to administrative negligence and lack of accountability, including the Morbi Bridge Collapse (2022), Rajkot Gaming Zone Fire, Vadodara boat tragedy and others.
Criticising the state government's response, Mevani said, 'It seems the Gujarat government has accepted that such accidents are a part of life. They just hand out a compensation of Rs four lakh to the victim's families, as if that's the price of a human life.'
He further alleged that blacklisted companies responsible for earlier mishaps were awarded fresh government contracts after donating to the BJP coffers during elections.
Mevani raised serious concerns over the integrity of the investigations into these accidents, alleging that the same corrupt officers involved in illegal alcohol trade, gambling, land deals, and even drug rackets are being handed charge of these probes.
'These are the same officers who take money to ensure BJP wins elections,' he claimed.
He accused the government of resorting to token arrests under media and opposition pressure while letting the real culprits often with links to the ruling party 'go scot-free'.
Calling for accountability and transparency, Mevani demanded the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising honest officers to investigate not just the Gambhira bridge tragedy, but also the 16 previous accidents across Gujarat.
Meanwhile, Lalji Desai alleged that there was misgovernance in Gujarat and "protectors have become the predators".
He alleged that the state was running a "20-20 model of corruption".
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