Morbi bridge collapse: Act of God or act of fraud, Digvijaya asks PM Modi; slams BJP rule in Gujarat
Bhopal, Oct 30: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked if the collapse of the suspension bridge on Machchhu river in Gujarat's Morbi district, in which at least 60 persons have died, was an "act of God or an act of fraud".
Singh, who issued several tweets on the incident, was playing on the phrase that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reportedly used at a rally while lampooning the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal after the Vivekananda Road flyover collapsed in Kolkata on March 31, 2016, killing many.
"Modi ji, is the Morbi bridge accident an Act of God or Act of Fraud?" Singh tweeted while quoting a 2016 news report.
He said the bridge was under repair for six months but collapsed five days after it was reopened.
In Gujarat, where the Bharatiya Janata Party has been in power for 27 years, the Narmada canal broke during the first day's testing at village Bidra in Kutch district in July this year, while an overbridge in Bhuj, which took 8-9 years to build, had to be repaired within a year of commissioning, Singh claimed.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP president VD Sharma and State Congress Chief Kamal Nath expressed grief over the incident.
मोदी जी मोरबी के पुल की दुर्घटना “Act of God है या Act of Fraud है?”
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) October 30, 2022
3/n #MorbiBridge
Watch Narendra Modi say the Kolkata flyover collapse was a message from god about Mamata https://t.co/0AfMfSaKPD via @scroll_in
६ महीनों से पुल की मरम्मत हो रही थी कितना खर्च आया? ५ दिन में गिर गया!!
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) October 30, 2022
२७ वर्षों से भाजपा की सरकार है यही आपका Development Model है?
इसी साल जुलाई में कच्छ ज़िले के ग्राम बिदड़ा में नर्मदा नहर पहले दिन की टेस्टिंग में ही टूट गई।
4/n#MorbiBridge
Suspension bridge in #Gujarat collapses just few weeks away from elections & Modi ji has a message to everyone!
— YSR (@ysathishreddy) October 30, 2022
Karma is boomerang 👇 pic.twitter.com/Cv2h1WSKvp
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
