The Trinamool Congress on Monday returned the “cut money” taunt to the BJP a day after the Sunday’s Gujarat cable bridge collapse that left more than 135 people dead and about 50 missing.
The Bengal ruling outfit referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hard hitting statements against Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after the 2016 Kolkata fly-over collapse that had claimed 27 lives and wondered whether the Prime Minister would shed some tears for the Gujarat victims too.
In 2016 the Prime Minister had taunted Banerjee saying the Kolkata bridge collapse was not an act of God (as claimed by the Chief Minister) but an “act of fraud”. Referring to this, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy said, “PM Modi taunted Mamata Banerjee over Kolkata flyover collapse. Let there be a few drops of tears, Modi ji over the death of 132 persons in newly renovated bridge collapse in Gujarat yesterday.”
His party colleague and TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh leveled cut-money charges on the Gujarat BJP leaders wondering whether the Government of that State would investigate as to how much cut-money had gone into the bridge repairing contract.
About 135 people died and more than 50 on Sunday went missing when the cable bridge over Macchhu River in Morvi district of Gujarat collapsed apparently on account of overweight. The bridge had allegedly been thrown open to the public without any fitness certificate four days after its repair was completed by a maintenance company.
Senior TMC leader and party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh slammed the BJP government saying “whenever something happens in Bengal fact finding teams are sent here now we ask whether fact finding teams will be sent to Morvi … we also ask whether cut money was involved or how much of that was taken for awarding of the contract to the company responsible for the maintenance of the bridge … questions must also arise as to whether the company that was given the maintenance work had enough expertise to do so … we will also ask why the Gujarat government is trying to hide the actual number of people who died in the accident.”
Ghosh said both Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah “who jointly supervise the Gujarat model of the so-called double engine government will have to take responsibility of the death of so many people … they cannot wash of their hands by announcing a few lakh of rupees to the next of kin of the deceased.” He said, “Why fact finding teams and central agencies like ED and CBI will not be sent to Morvi to find out the real fact of the matter,” asking “is ED and CBI reserved for the opposition-ruled states only or whether the death of 135 people is not enough to merit serious probe.”
Another TMC leader and MLA said “it is a shame for the BJP which calls itself a party with a difference that they handout only a meagure Rs 2- Rs 4 lakh to the relatives of the dead persons while shelling hundreds of crores in buying MPs and MLAs to topple opposition governments.”
Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury too taunted the Prime Minister wondering whether the Morvi represented the best model of a double engine government. “I want to ask Modi ji whether it is the famed Gujarat model of development that comes via a double engine government that was responsible for the mishap or it was lack of efficiency on the part of the BJP-run administration that brought about such a big disaster … I also want to ask whether they will send an NIA team to Morvi to find out things.”