New Delhi : The Congress on Tuesday alleged that the BJP government in Gujarat was not serious about the horrific fire at the Rajkot gaming zone, saying it was only suspending small officials when top officials and ruling party leaders had been visiting the recreation centre.
The opposition party urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Rajkot and meet the families of the victims to share their grief. As many as 27 persons, including children, were killed in a massive fire at the recreation centre on May 25. Since the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the state government is taking the help of a forensic science lab to identify the victims through DNA profiling.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil said adequate compensation be given to those who lost their loved ones and that the municipal corporation under whose watch the incident happened be "superseded". "Prime Minister Modi should take a break from campaigning and meet the families affected by this incident in Rajkot and share their grief," he said.
Hitting out at the state government, Gohil said no safety rules such as fire safety, separate entry and exit routes and distance from residential areas were followed in the game zone. "Even after such a horrific accident in Rajkot, the government is not serious. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the lives and property of the people, but today the government itself is playing with it. When the top officials themselves had been visiting this game zone, then what is the government trying to prove by suspending the junior officials?" Gohil said.
The gaming zone incident in Rajkot is not the first such accident as 22 children lost their lives in an educational institute in Surat, he said. "Similarly, 14 children lost their lives when a boat sank in Vadodara. No action was taken in that case either. Many people lost their lives due to the collapse of the bridge in Banaskantha. The company which was building this bridge was blacklisted earlier as well, but as soon as it donated money to the BJP, it got the work of building this bridge," Gohil alleged.
The Congress leader claimed that in the Gujarat government, good and honest officers have been ignored and officers who are flatter the government have been given prominence. "The situation is such that in Gujarat, good officers are being sidelined and their careers are being ruined. Result is accidents like the one in Rajkot and people's lives are being played with," Gohil said.
Gujarat Police has arrested one more partner of the Rajkot-based TRP game zone in connection to the fire incident, an official said on Tuesday. Dhaval Thakkar, the proprietor of Dhaval Corporation, which ran the TRP game zone along with five partners of Raceway Enterprises, was arrested from Abu Road in neighbouring Rajasthan, Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana said.
With this, four persons have so far been arrested in connection with the fire incident at the game zone on Saturday. The state government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a probe into the incident and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased. The central government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased person.
