Mamata says, no politics on Morbi bridge collapse, but attacks CBI, ED

Trinamool Congress leader and chief minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday conveyed her shock and pain over the bridge collapse incident in Morbi, Gujarat, which lost at least 135 lives.

She said she would not indulge in “politics” over the issue as “people’s lives were more important”.

A Supreme Court-monitored judicial panel should be constituted to investigate the incident, according to Banerjee, who was addressing to reporters at the Kolkata airport before departing for Chennai to meet Tamil Nadu CM and DMK chief MK Stalin.

“I won’t comment on it as people’s lives are more important than politics. I express my condolences. Many have died and many are still missing. A judicial commission should be made under the SC to probe the Morbi incident,” she said.

Banerjee added that accountability issues needed to be resolved and questioned why central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation were not pursuing criminal charges against those responsible for the disaster.

“Why’re the ED and CBI not taking action against criminals involved in the Morbi incident? They take action against only common people. Accountability should be fixed.”

She, however, refrained from criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling the collapse of a bridge on a key Kolkata road a “act of fraud” in 2016. “Since it is the Prime Minister’s (Narendra Modi) state, I won’t say anything about him. I will refrain from talking politics,” she said.

On October 30, a century-old suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat, collapsed, killing at least 135 people. Four of the nine individuals arrested thus far in the case have been transferred to police custody, while the remaining five have been placed in judicial custody until November 5.