BJP, TMC target each other over bridge collapse

The collapse of a portion of an under-construction bridge in West Bengal's Malda district triggered sharp exchanges between the ruling TMC and opposition BJP on Monday over the incident that left three people dead and seven injured.

The deceased included a junior engineer and two labourers whose bodies have been recovered, a senior police officer said. Of the seven injured, five are being treated at the Malda Medical College and Hospital and two others have been referred to a hospital in Kolkata in "very critical" condition, he said.

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Senior Trinamool Congress leader of Malda district and former state minister Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury demanded an inquiry to find out if there was any role of "cut money or whether the local representatives of the Centre-appointed implementing agency of the project had any nexus with local goons close to BJP".

'Cut money' refers to bribe or commission demanded by local musclemen or politicians for a project. BJP state president and MP Dilip Ghosh hit right back, saying "Those who take cut money themselves are possessed by the thought of cut money." The cause behind the collapse needs to be ascertained, whether there was any fault in planning, structural design or was it due to negligence, he said.

BJP MP from Malda North seat Khagen Murmu said the BJP-led central government followed what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said "will neither indulge in corruption nor will allow it". Murmu urged the Centre to initiate a high-level probe into the incident and take action against those found responsible, irrespective of their political affiliation. A girder of the under-construction second Farakka bridge came crashing down around 8 pm on Sunday, trapping several people. Personnel of the disaster management department are still removing the debris.

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