Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh
Credit: PTI Photo
Surendranagar: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday targeted the BJP government in Gujarat over tragedies like the Morbi bridge collapse and Rajkot game zone fire, saying it was not following rules and safety procedures.
Singh was here to join the ‘Nyay Yatra’, a foot march launched by the Congress from Morbi to seek justice for the victims of four major tragedies in the BJP-ruled state over the last five years.
Through the Yatra, the Congress is raising issues like the law and order situation in the state, and whether people, especially the poor, are getting their rights, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister told reporters.
In the past few years, he said, hundreds of people have lost their lives due to fires in the state. Many died in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse of October 30, 2022, he said.
“The BJP has ruled the state for more than 35 years. Is law and order being followed in the state? Are people, especially the poor, getting their rights? These are the issues (being raised through the Yatra),” Singh said.
He said the Morbi tragedy happened as the government did not follow rules properly.
“Had the government followed the rules, such incidents would not have occurred. For example, in Morbi, a man selected by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (Union Home Minister Amit) Shah was handed over the bridge (for operation and maintenance), and rules and procedures which were required to be followed were not followed,” he said.
Permission was given without following due safety procedures, causing the tragedy in which 135 persons lost their lives, he said.
The Rajkot game zone fire similarly left many dead, Singh said. More than 400 people have died in four such incidents, which were caused because the state government did not follow rules, he said.
The 14-day ‘Nyay Yatra’, launched on August 9 from Morbi, will cover nearly 350 km before culminating in Gandhinagar on August 23.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had visited Ahmedabad on July 6 and met the family members of some of the victims of the tragedies, promising to raise their grievances in Parliament.
A total of 22 students died when a fire broke out in the illegally constructed top floor of the Takshashila complex in Surat city on May 24, 2019.
As many as 135 persons died after a British-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed on October 30, 2022. The bridge was maintained by the Oreva Group. The company’s chief managing director Jaysukh Patel got bail in March this year.
In January this year, 12 school students and two teachers died when a boat capsized in Motnath lake in Vadodara city. The partners of Kotia Projects, which had been awarded the contract to maintain and operate the lakefront, were subsequently arrested.
As many as 27 persons, including four children, were killed in a massive fire at a game zone in Rajkot city on May 25.