This Politician Blamed Pedestrians For Mumbai Bridge Collapse, Twitter Rips Her Apart
In the last two years, there have been two major bridge collapses in Mumbai - Elphinstone and Gokhale. The fact remains that in both the cases, a large part of the blame was on pedestrians." she was quoted as saying
Once a tragedy strikes a city, notable personalities come forward to give their condolences or to contribute to the bereaved and affected families. Politicians from respective parties appear on television news debates to discuss the situation at-hand.
When a Mumbai foot-over bridge collapsed at the CSMT railway station on Thursday, politicians, celebrities and common public expressed their outrage over the current infrastructure that remains in shambles.
Many questions were raised on structural audits, safety norms, maintenance funds and incumbent government. However, chief spokesperson for BJP Mumbai Sanju Verma shocked the citizens when she appeared on a TV news debate and called the collapse a ¡®natural calamity¡¯.
Soon, her comments gained attention on social media where she was bashed for being insensitive towards the victims. She vindicated herself and her party of any wrongdoing and said that the falling apart of the bridge was not a ¡®governance deficit¡¯.
A large part of the blame was on the pedestrians: @Sanju_Verma_, Leader, BJP while speaking to @navikakumar | #MumbaiBridgeCollapse pic.twitter.com/FUrSsYa7R1
¡ª TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 14, 2019
"My heart goes out to the people who are reportedly dead because they did not deserve this. Having said this, I would not agree to the fact that there was a governance deficit. Could this have been avoided? Perhaps, yes. I have been closely monitoring this. In the last two years, there have been two major bridge collapses in Mumbai - Elphinstone and Gokhale. The fact remains that in both the cases, a large part of the blame was on pedestrians." she was quoted as saying on Times Now.
She went onto say that pedestrians need to be cautious of their duties as citizens. They shouldn¡¯t travel. She even said, ¡°Who are you to decide whether it is an accident, or a sabotage or a government deficit?¡± while replying to another panelist who questioned her party's responsibility.
How can you be so insensitive, these are fellow Indians who have died due to poor infrastructure maintenance. People who take this lightly and make stupid statements should be given free medical treatment.
¡ª CandyMan (@CandyManSaga) March 15, 2019
However, her comments weren¡¯t well-received by the twitter users and other dignitaries who called out to her for her sheer crassness and ignorance.
Six people were killed and 33 others injured after a portion of the concrete slab of a key foot over bridge which connected Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to a school on the busy Dadabhai Naoroji Road in south Mumbai collapsed on Thursday at around 7.35 pm.
This @Sanju_Verma_ should be sacked immediately! Senseless woman https://t.co/jpkYX6hjSa
¡ª Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) March 14, 2019
Under fire, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis government has ordered a probe into the accident which he termed as "unfortunate". Police have registered cases against BMC and Indian Railway officials charging them with culpable homicide following the accident.
Someone please ask BJP spokesperson @Sanju_Verma_ to shut up on @TimesNow She is blaming pedestrians and common citizens for collapse of the bridge in Mumbai. Truly shameless comments. Anchor @navikakumar shut off her mike but she continues her obscene rant.
¡ª Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) March 14, 2019
THIS is what happens when you don't question your leadership.
¡ª Akash Banerjee (@akashbanerjee) March 14, 2019
(Any party, anywhere in the world)
It leads to this level of asinine arrogance. Even as people die @Sanju_Verma_ of the BJP says it's the people who are at fault ?
#MumbaiBridgeCollapse pic.twitter.com/4qSxLwNQ7r
The more crassness spokespersons like @Sanju_Verma_ show about this horrific tragedy, the more the BJP will alienate the citizens of Mumbai. This bridge collapse has shocked the city, but more shocking is the buck passing and this kind of shamelessness of the ruling establishment https://t.co/CZSzKWRJRS
¡ª Sidharth Bhatia (@bombaywallah) March 14, 2019
Apart from writing news, Kriti is either listening to some good music or eating some good food. A lover of horror movies and adventurous rides, she is keen on making new friends.
