Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said on Thursday that the CEO of Oreva Group, which operated the Morbi Bridge was not being arrested because he had Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “protection”. He described the Morbi bridge accident as an “example of criminalisation, corruption and commission” prevalent in the Gujarat government.
“Gujarat used to be a model for administration and good governance. The Morbi bridge disaster is a clear example of what has happened to good governance over the past 27 years,” Singh told reporters at the party headquarters in Ahmedabad.
He said he was in Bhuj as part of the Congress’s Parivartan Yatra when the Morbi accident happened and had rushed to the site. “Just 4km away a BJP election meeting was on and it went on till 7:30pm—almost an hour after the accident. BJP ministers and party MP were also present,” he said.
Pointing to the Gujarat High Court’s recent observations on the Morbi tragedy, Singh said, “It shows how criminalisation, corruption and commission are widespread under Modi rule.” He questioned what the district collector and the superintendent of police were doing when the head of the private firm cut a ribbon and threw open the Morbi bridge to the public just a few days before its collapse. The Morbi Bridge accident killed over 130 people.
“Why has the CEO of the company not been arrested till date? Why does his name not figure as an accused in the FIR. It is because he has Modiji’s protection. This is the biggest example of commission, criminalisation and corruption,” Singh said. He further added that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel should have resigned after the tragedy.
The Congress leader also said the Oreva Group CEO was “absconding” and that police had sent a lookout notice for the top company official. “There cannot be a bigger administrative failure than this. The functionality of the municipality is also suspect,” he added.
Singh also alleged that the special investigation team inquiring into the tragedy was a convenient tool to protect the accused and criminals.
