Industrialist out on bail in Morbi bridge collapse case honoured; kin of victims upset
Morbi, Nov 16: Industrialist Jaysukh Patel, the main accused in the 2022 Gujarat suspension bridge collapse that claimed 135 lives, received criticism after he was felicitated at an event organised by the Patidar community in Morbi district.
While the victims’ kin expressed anguish over the event, the organisers said that Patel, currently out on bail, was honoured in his capacity as the son of late OR Patel, a philanthropist who founded the Ajanta Group.
Patel was weighed in “modak” (sweet dumpling) on a scale at the function organised by Kadva Patidar Kanya Kelavani Mandal on the outskirts of Morbi town on Friday to mark the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of the Uma Sanskardham temple.
The modak will be packed in 60,000 boxes and distributed among Patidar families, the organisers said.
“It is a matter of sadness for us to see the main accused in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse being honoured like that,” said Narendra Parmar, a member of the association representing victims and their families.
A court recently relaxed Patel’s bail condition barring him from entering the Morbi district, making it possible for him to attend the event.
His firm Oreva Group was responsible for the operation and maintenance of a British-era suspension bridge on river Machchhu in Morbi town that collapsed on October 30, 2022, killing 135 persons, including women and children, and injuring 56 others.
“I learnt about Patel’s felicitation through a news report and felt sad. He was barred from entering Morbi but secured the court’s permission for the event. The incident and losing a child is not something one forgets in his lifetime,” said Parmar, whose 10-year-old daughter was killed in the tragedy.
AK Patel, a member of the organisation that held the programme, said they honoured Jaysukh Patel to pay respects to his late father OR Patel, who founded the Ajanta Group, describing him as “the father of wall clocks”.
“We decided to felicitate Jaysukh Patel and his brothers at the event as a tribute to their father OR Patel’s service to society,” he said.
Former Congress MLA Lalit Kagathara said there was nothing wrong with Patel being honoured by his community, stressing that the industrialist’s family has made significant contributions to society through philanthropy.
“I have been saying that Jaysukh Patel is innocent. Morbi’s then collector and civic officials are responsible for the tragedy. Why an FIR was not registered against them? OR Patel was the ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of the Patridar community and a philanthropist. There is nothing wrong with his son being honoured by the community," he said.
A total of ten persons, including Patel, two managers of his firm, two sub-contractors who had repaired the bridge, three security guards and two ticket booking clerks, were arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and for endangering human life after the accident.
The Supreme Court on March 22, 2024, ordered Patel’s release and directed the trial court to frame his bail conditions. Among the bail conditions, Patel was barred from entering Morbi till the pendency of the trial.
Patel had moved the apex court after the Gujarat High Court in December last year rejected his regular bail plea.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
