AHMEDABAD: Senior Congress Leader P Chidambaram blamed the Centre on Tuesday over the Morbi bridge collapse in poll-bound Gujarat.
Pointing out that Gujarat is governed from Delhi and not by the chief minister, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram today while addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad said "Morbi Bridge Collapse has brought shame to the fair name of Gujarat... The most shocking development is that no one, on behalf of the government, has apologized for the tragedy. No one has resigned taking responsibility.”
"The High Court of Gujarat has issued notice to the government. I hope the High Court will raise these questions and also other questions and get the answers,” he said.
Taking a dig at Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government in Gujarat P. Chidambaram said “The BJP government has been in office continuously since 1998. The current legislative assembly was elected in 2017. In the last six years of the BJP government, there have been three chief ministers - a clear indictment of the performance of the outgoing chief minister. If the elections were held in 2023, it is quite possible that Bhupendra Patel would also be shown the door.”
P. Chidambaram also target BJP high command by saying, "The reason for revolving door chief ministers is quite simple: Gujarat is not being governed from Ahmedabad, it is governed from Delhi. Gujarat is not governed by the Chief Minister, it is governed by the duo of Narendra Modi-Shri Amit Shah. Gujarat is a vassal state of Delhi.”
Chidambaram also slammed BJP’s double-engine slogan “ The boast of a double-engine government is an empty boast. Gujarat is a single bullock cart that is trudging on a mud path leaving behind vast sections of the people, especially the Scheduled Tribes, women, the youth and the poor.”
READ | Congress calls Morbi bridge tragedy an example of 'BJP-created disaster'
Chidambaram claimed Behind the illusion of high growth, prosperity and social harmony there are ugly facts that are carefully hidden but that are well known to the people of Gujarat. As per the last published data, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is 29 (per 1000 live births). The Under Five Mortality Rate is 31.
The Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is 75 (per 1,00,000 live births). Retail food inflation in Gujarat is among the highest in the country. According to reports, it was 11.5 per cent in August 2022. According to CMIE data, the unemployment rate among youth aged 20-24 years in Gujarat is 12.49 per cent.
“Unemployment among the uneducated youth and low-education youth is extremely high. For example, the state government received 17 lakh applications for 3400 posts of Talati. The average wage rate in Gujarat is among the lowest in the country. For example, the wage of the construction worker in Gujarat is Rs 285 a day,” said Chidambaram.
Chidambaram also ask the Gujarat people to change government this time. “Any government and any party will be answerable and accountable to the people only if there is the fear of losing an election. That is why in all mature parliamentary democracies, the people change the government every few years or after a few terms.”
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