Blast at illegal firecracker unit in Banaskantha kills 21, triggers outrage
AHMEDABAD: A powerful explosion and fire at an illegal firecracker storage and manufacturing facility in Banaskantha district claimed at least 21 lives, including women and children, on Tuesday. Six others sustained injuries in the incident.
The blast, which occurred around 9:30 am at Deepak Firecrackers' warehouse in Deesa, led to a massive fire, trapping several workers inside. The intensity of the explosion reduced an adjacent structure to rubble, scattering debris over a 200-meter radius. Firefighters and rescue teams, including the SDRF, launched operations to contain the blaze and recover victims.
Authorities confirmed that many of the deceased were migrant laborers from Madhya Pradesh who had recently arrived for work. Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana stated that ongoing efforts were being made to ensure no one remained trapped inside. District Collector Mihir Patel described the explosion as severe enough to collapse the factory's slab, affecting nearby residential areas.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced compensation of ₹4 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured. However, grieving families criticized the aid as insufficient, demanding stricter accountability. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav assured full assistance to affected workers and their families while maintaining communication with Gujarat authorities.
The incident has sparked political reactions, with Congress accusing the state government of negligence. Party President Shakti Sinh Gohil criticized repeated industrial disasters and the administration’s delayed response.
Police have arrested the owner of the godown and confirmed that the operation was running illegally without regulatory approvals. Investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of the explosion and identify further liabilities.
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
