Morbi bridge collapse: Mamata spares Modi from criticism, takes swipe at CBI, ED

Mamata Banerjee said she does not want to make any comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Morbi bridge collapse in his home state saying that she does not want to make the death of 135 people a political issue

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday sought a judicial inquiry under the supervision of the Supreme Court into the bridge collapse in Gujarat’s Morbi and said she does not want to make any comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident in his home state saying that she does not want to make the death 135 people a political issue.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee sought a judicial inquiry under the supervision of the Supreme Court into the bridge collapse in Gujarat’s Morbi. (PTI)

Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for Chennai, where she was scheduled to meet her Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin, Banerjee, however, took a swipe at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) asking why they are not probing the Morbi incident.

“I will not make any comment on Prime Minister Modi. Gujarat is his state. It is a tragic incident. I offer my condolences to the families of the bereaved. This is not a political issue,” Banerjee said.

“There should be a judicial inquiry under the supervision of the Supreme Court. Why is it not being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED)? The agencies are always after common people,” she said, indirectly hinting at the probes many of her party leaders are facing.

Banerjee’s statement came days after her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), targeted Modi for a statement he made in 2016 after an under-construction flyover collapsed in Kolkata killing more than 20 people on the eve of the assembly polls held in March-April that year.

While campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Madarihat in north Bengal on April 7, the Prime Minister said: “They say it’s an act of God. Didi, this is not an act of God, this is an act of fraud… It is a message from God to the people that today the bridge has come down and tomorrow Bengal will be finished.”

The TMC circulated videos of Modi’s speech on social media after the Morbi incident. “We dare Modi to repeat the exact words in Gujarat. So many people died in Morbi because God cursed the BJP for its nationwide activities,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said in Kolkata on Monday.

On Wednesday afternoon, when asked about Modi’s 2016 statement, Banerjee distanced herself from the TMC’s stand. “As a politician I will not do any politics. This is a matter related to justice. It is not a political matter,” she said.

“I felt an urge to visit Morbi but decided not to. People might say I was there to do politics before the state elections. But accountability for this incident must be fixed. The tender process (for maintenance of the British-era bridge) must be probed. The bridge was opened without a fitness certificate. They played with human lives,” she added.

The chief minister complained about the rescue operation and how the body of the sole victim from Bengal was sent back. “It was not done in a proper manner,” she said.

Commenting on Banerjee’s statements, Bengal BJP chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: “The chief minister tried to create a new controversy to steer people’s attention away from burning issues in Bengal. Banerjee wants people to think that she is sympathetic towards Modi. This will become the talking point for a while. The Morbi incident has forced her government to order an inspection of bridges in Bengal. She knows how corrupt her party leaders are.”

Constructed in 1879, the 233-metre suspension bridge over the Machchu river in Morbi crumbled on Sunday evening four days after it was reopened following renovation. The Gujarat government has constituted a special investigation team as questions remained whether too many people were allowed to climb onto the bridge and whether authorities ensured adequate safety certification.

The Gujarat police have registered a first information report for culpable homicide and negligence and a local court on Tuesday remanded in five-day police custody four of the nine accused arrested in connection with the case. Two managers of the Oreva Group, which renovated the bridge, were among those arrested.

Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday visited the families of victims and inspected the accident site. He also chaired a meeting at the office of the superintendent of police, attended by chief minister Bhupendra Patel, minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi, chief secretary Pankaj Kumar, and director general of police Ashish Bhatia and said the need of the hour is to conduct a detailed and extensive inquiry which will identify all aspects relating to this mishap. Modi also asked authorities to stay in touch with the affected families, and ensure they receive all the help they need.

This is the second time in two months that Banerjee has taken a soft stand on Modi.

On September 19, when the West Bengal legislative assembly passed a resolution accusing CBI and ED of indulging in excesses, Banerjee said she does not believe that Modi is instructing federal agencies to use power beyond their limits against TMC leaders.

“You are possibly not aware that these agencies are no longer under the Prime Minister’s office. They are now controlled by the Union home ministry,” she said in her speech during discussion on the resolution.

Though it appeared that Banerjee was targeting Union home minister Amit Shah, she did not take his name. Instead, she said: “The central government and a section of BJP leaders are behind this. Bengal’s BJP leaders want the agencies to serve their political agenda. The Prime Minister is possibly not aware of this.”

Banerjee urged the Prime Minister to see to it that agendas of the central government and the BJP do not cross paths. “This resolution is not against any person but against the biased role of the agencies,” Banerjee said in her speech.

The eight points in the resolution accuses federal agencies of violating democratic norms and “torturing” TMC MLAs, businessmen, government officials, shop keepers and even students while taking no action against BJP leaders who, too, are accused in several cases. The “excess,” the resolution said, increased after the TMC came to power in Bengal for the third time in 2021.