New Delhi: The Bawana fire tragedy triggered a political blame game here, which played out in tweets, videos and media statements, as the AAP and the BJP engaged in a war of words, while the Congress sought a judicial probe into the incident that claimed 17 lives.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal retweeted a video clip, that emerged hours later after the incident. In the video, North Delhi mayor Preety Agarwal is allegedly heard whispering to one of her aides, “iss factory ki licensing hamare paas hai, isliye hum kuch nahi bol sakte (the licensing of the factory is with us, hence we can’t say anything)”. Agarwal, however, claimed the video that was “being made viral was “fake” and sought apology from the Chief Minister.
“Arvind Kejriwal by retweeting the video has resorted to dirty politics and he should apologise for that,” she said and also posted on her Twitter handle. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also backed the mayor. “What could have been more worse than CM Arvind Kejriwal retweeting an untruthful video at a time when 17 people have died in a tragedy,” he tweeted. He also visited the site of fire in Bawana and demanded a judicial probe into the incident. On the tweet, he also claimed that the factory, where the fire occurred, was of the Delhi government and its “licence was given through industry department.”
AAP’s Delhi unit’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj hit back at the BJP, saying the MCD (which is ruled by the BJP) is responsible for giving permission for constructions.
