Mumbai deaths not natural, but man-made disaster: Maha Congress

Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal on Monday demanded that a case of culpable homicide be registered against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for 12 deaths in various incidents across the Mumbai region.

He said that torrential rains are wreaking havoc in several parts of the state, causing massive loss of life and property. While it is imperative to take precautionary measures during the monsoon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti government and the administration appear completely unprepared.

He claimed that the 12 deaths are not due to a natural calamity, but are a result of the Fadnavis government’s tyrannical mismanagement.

Speaking to the media, Sapkal stated that although Rs 7,181 crore was spent on the ‘Missing Link’ project, the government has faced the embarrassing situation of having to close the road to traffic just two months after its operation.

“During Prithviraj Chavan’s tenure as state CM, experts had raised 13 serious objections regarding the safety of this project. These included alignment issues near the Lonavala dam, tunnel safety, geological stability, and other technical concerns. Instead of addressing these objections, the work was rushed through to host grand inauguration events for credit-grabbing and corruption. This subpar execution eventually culminated in a pillar collapse, forcing the suspension of traffic,” said Sapkal.

He alleged that the Fadnavis government’s tendency to compromise public money and human lives just to pocket kickbacks, while ignoring critical technical warnings, is being exposed every single day.

When questioned about the potholes appearing on the Missing Link project, CM Fadnavis claimed it was currently in a “testing period.”

Reacting sharply to this, Sapkal termed the Chief Minister’s statement as shameless. Raising a question, he asked whether the BJP government, which has been in power since 2014, has been running tests all this time.

He added that just like the theft at the Ram Temple is being covered up, this too is a pathetic attempt to hide corruption. The fiasco of the Missing Link project is entirely due to corruption. The more “engines” they add to this government, the more corruption will grow.

Sapkal further alleged that the BJP-Mahayuti government has ruined Mumbai for its own personal gains.

Taking a swipe at the Prime Minister’s foreign trips, Harshwardhan Sapkal remarked that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completely surrendered, which is why he frequently goes on foreign tours to hide his face.

The Congress state chief added a sarcastic jibe, suggesting that the Prime Minister should also occasionally stay in India.

IANS