Kolkata bridge collapse death toll 26, BJP slams Rahul's photo-op' politics
Kolkata: Two more bodies were recovered on Saturday from the Kolkata flyover collapse site in Girish Park area, which has taken the official death toll to 26. However, according to some reports, another body was pulled out from the debris and could make the toll 27.
The under-construction flyover collapsed in the city on Thursday, leaving several injured. Police had arrested three top officials of the Hyderabad based construction company which was building the flyover and slapped murder charges on them.
Read: Mamata Banerjee government knew about Kolkata flyover flaw: TMC MP
Meanwhile, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited the spot of the flyover collapse and said he had come to extend support to the victims and did not want to politicise the issue.
"There has been a tragedy here.I have come here to give them whatever little support I can provide," Gandhi said after meeting the injured in the hospital.
When asked to comment on the allegations of lapses in the construction of the flyover, Gandhi said, "I have come here to meet the injured. I'll not talk about politics."
Rahul Gandhi at the flyover collapse site. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)
Read: Centre orders safety review of all highway, bridge projects
However, the BJP took a swipe at Rahul over his visit to the site, calling it a "photo-op" which is the "lifeline" of the politics of the Congress Vice President.
The party also asked him to explain his stand on the award of contract for building the flyover to an alleged blacklisted firm by the then CPI(M) government in West Bengal, questioning if the alliance between Congress and the Left there is based on the "foundation of corruption".
"Rahul Gandhi is known for photo-ops. That is his politics. His political lifeline is photo-op," BJP National Secretary and West Bengal co-incharge Sidharth Nath Singh said reacting to the visit.
Read: TMC, BJP spar over Kolkata flyover collapse
He also claimed that BJP took a conscious decision that its Union Ministers, who were in the state for electioneering, would not go to the spot so as to avoid hampering rescue operation and drew a comparison with demonstration by Congress workers there that, he alleged, hindered rescue work.
Singh said Gandhi must answer if Congress exhibited responsibility with its demonstration on the spot. On the other hand there were two senior ministers on the day "setugate" happened, he said, adding that Home Minister Rajnath Singh monitored help by the NDRF and Army team.
Another Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was in Kolkata but did not go to the site of rescue operation.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: Ten IVRCL executives held
The state government had earlier announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs. five lakh to next of kin of the victims and Rs. two lakh to gravely injured people.
The Hyderabad-based construction company IVRCL, which was constructing the flyover, said that the unfortunate incident was an accident and maintained that it was beyond anyone's control.
The military and NDRF teams, which were rushed to carry out relief and rescue efforts, used heavy earth movers and gas cutting paraphernalia to complete the operation. The rescue operations were completed on Friday.
