Digvijaya targets PM Modi, Gujarat CM over Morbi bridge collapse, terms it 'act of fraud of highest degree'

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel over the Morbi bridge collapse and claimed it was an "act of fraud of the highest degree".

Addressing a press conference here in poll-bound Gujarat, Rajya Sabha member Singh said there cannot be a bigger administrative failure than the bridge collapse tragedy last month which claimed 135 lives, and said CM Patel should have resigned over the incident.

The suspension bridge located on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30, four days after it was reopened following its repair and renovation. On October 31, police arrested nine persons, including four staff members of the OREVA group that was managing the Morbi suspension bridge, and filed a case against firms tasked with the maintenance and operation of the structure.

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Singh said, "(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi had termed a bridge collapse in West Bengal as an 'act of fraud' in response to the 'act of God' comment of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader. Modiji, was Morbi an act of God or an act of fraud?" "It was a fraud of the highest degree and Modiji, you are responsible and accountable," the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister claimed.

Singh said Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel should have resigned over the tragedy. "A Special Investigation Team has been formed, but no notification has been issued till today. Why is the SIT formed? SIT is a convenient way of protecting the accused criminals," he alleged.

"This is the model of governance of Narendra Modi and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah and their protege, the chief minister of Gujarat, who is being remote-controlled," the Congress leader claimed.

He also accused the PM of being responsible for criminalisation of politics. Modi had promised to work against the elected representatives with criminal backgrounds but nothing has happened, Singh said.

He also questioned the absence of the name of Chief Executive Officer of the Ajanta Manufacturing, or OREVA Group (which renovated the ill-fated structure), in the FIR pertaining to the Morbi bridge collapse, and said no lookout notice has yet been issued against the company's CEO.

"(This is) because of Modi's protection. This is the biggest example of criminalisation, corruption and commission. Had it happened in any other state, there would be an outcry in the entire country," Singh claimed.

Condemning the local administration's role, Singh said the CEO of the company, which renovated the bridge, cut the ribbon (for inaugurating the bridge), but the district administration and the superintendent of police did not know about it.

"There cannot be a bigger administrative failure than this. The role of the municipal corporation is also suspected," he added. Singh also targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over its event underway four kilometres away from the site on the day of the tragedy and claimed it continued till 7.30pm, an hour after the bridge collapsed.

Referring to the issue of remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, he said, "Convicts who are involved in rape and murder are given relief and welcomed when they come out, and their family members are made members of the BJP."

Singh also accused Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal of being "a part of the RSS project of Congress-mukt Bharat and the B-team of BJP." All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi is also the part of the BJP's B-team, Singh claimed, adding that the Hyderabad MP readily gets permission from the district administration to hold protests while the Congress gets "laathi" (stick), Singh claimed.

"Change is the hallmark of democracy. There are many issues in Gujarat, like the failure of governance, criminalisation, commission, corruption, flouting of rules, regulations, and protection to criminals," he further claimed. Elections for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 and votes will be counted on December 8.