NEW DELHI : BJP candidate from the east Delhi constituency, Harsh Malhotra, on Saturday targetted his rival AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar after a building where a BJP leader resided, collapsed following the excavation work of drains.
The ill-fated 4-storey building, which was in a dilapidated state in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri, collapsed on Saturday, however, no injuries were reported from the incident. According to a police officer, the four-storeyed building, standing tall at 20 metres, was owned by Ved Prakash, an advocate.
However, the incident gave political fuel to the BJP to target its rivals as a former Secretary of the Scheduled Caste Morcha of Mayur Vihar District, Satyaprakash, resided there.
Malhotra, immediately after the incident, reached the scene along with Mayur Vihar District president Vijendra Dhama. Speaking to press, Malhotra said he was informed by the residents that cracks had appeared in the house due to excavation of drains near the house.
“Despite complaints, officials and local legislators paid no attention and ultimately the house collapsed within a few hours,” Malhotra said.
He said that all of East Delhi’s drains are filled with sludge, and due to the negligence of the Delhi government, the condition of the drains is terrible. “Today’s incident in Kondli is a warning of such incidents in many places in East Delhi, including Kantinagar and Gazipur Dairy Farm,” the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha elections said. “Complete responsibility for today’s accident lies with the local MLA and AAP leader Kuldeep Kumar, and he should accept the moral responsibility for it and resign,” Malhotra added.
Meanwhile, AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar said it was a very old building and the ground beneath was giving away. “Due to the alertness of the administration no untoward incident was reported.”