NEW DELHI: In another round of war of words over the Palam fire, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday stated that the BJP government failed to save the nine lives in the tragedy in an attempt to avoid exposing lapses in firefighting response.
At a press conference, Bhardwaj tied a shroud around his head and brought a funeral bier as a mark of protest. The BJP, however, slammed the move as theatrical, alleging that it reflected an attempt to grab headlines rather than genuine grief over the tragedy.
He said the residents had asked officials to move a fire tender so mattresses could be laid out for those trapped to jump onto, but the vehicle was not shifted. He said that authorities feared such a rescue would reveal the failure of the fire brigade, and as a result, nine members of the family were allowed to die.
He criticised statements made by BJP leaders and said, “Just as in the case of Kamal Dhyani, who died after falling into a pit in Janakpuri, the BJP government is attempting to shift all blame onto the victims. The people of Delhi have understood the truth.”
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva stated that the Delhi government has already ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire incident in Palam and the associated relief operations. This inquiry will investigate everything from the root causes of the fire to whether there was any negligence on the part of the fire brigade during the relief efforts.
Sachdeva noted that it is a matter of common discussion in Palam that a substantial quantity of flammable materials was stored on the ground floor of the building where the fire broke out. He asked Bharadwaj if he acknowledges that flammable materials were indeed stored within the building that caught fire?
He further said that while it is essential to highlight the deficiencies in fire brigade infrastructure, it is equally pertinent to consider whether the accident was caused by the flammable materials stored there.