Kolkata warehouse fire was not an accident but result of corruption: HM Shah

Kolkata: The devastating fire at the factory-cum-warehouse of Wow Momo at Anandapur on the Southern outskirts of Kolkata earlier this week that killed 25 people, was not a simple accident but a result of rampant corruption on part of the Mamata Banerjee-led state administration in West Bengal, Union Home Minister, Amit Shah said on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking at a mass rally-cum-BJP workers’ conference at Barrackpore in South 24 Parganas district, the Union Home Minister also claimed that the owner of Wow Momo had not been arrested so far because of his proximity to those in power.

“The fire in Anandapur was not an accident. A total of 25 people are dead. In addition, 27 people are still missing. Why did it happen? With whom is the owner of the Momo Factory so close? Who invested money there? With whom did the owner of the Momo factory make an overseas trip on the same flight? Why wasn’t he arrested? So many people died. Would Mamata Banerjee have reacted in the same manner had the dead persons been infiltrators? Why are you doing politics over this? You should be ashamed,” he said.

He also said that if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal after the Assembly polls later this year, there will be a proper investigation into the matter, and all those responsible for the mishap will surely be behind bars.

Speaking on the occasion, he also said that the statistical progression in the BJP’s vote share over the last few elections indicates the high possibility of the BJP coming to power in West Bengal in 2026.

“In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections the BJP became the principal Opposition party in West Bengal for the first time, winning from 77 constituencies, with Suvendu Adhikari becoming the Leader of the Opposition.

“In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured 39 per cent of the total votes polled. This time, we have to leap from 39 per cent to 45 per cent,” he said.

He also said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is suffering from ‘optical delusion’ because of her dream to make her nephew the next Chief Minister of West Bengal.

“When the dream crashes, that optical delusion will be cured automatically,” Shah said.

Speaking on the occasion, he assured voters from the Matua Community that they need not worry about their voting rights. “Mamata Banerjee is trying to mislead them by stating that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision will result in the deletion of their names from the voters’ list. I am assuring them from here that not a single Matua voter will lose his or her voting right,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, he also claimed that whatever Mamata Banerjee, her government, and her party might try, the SIR process will continue and voting will be conducted with a transparent voters’ list.

IANS