BJP leaders downplay Gambhira bridge collapse by calling it partly broken, netizens react

Yet another tragic incident in Gujarat exposes the negligence of the authorities. What followed was excuses and attempts by the state government to downplay the collapse of the Gambhira bridge, fuelling the public rage even more.

At least 15 people lost their lives when a portion of Gambhira bridge near Mujpur village in Padra taluka collapsed early on Wednesday, leading to a truck and a Bolero SUV plunging into the Mahi River.

Rather than acknowledging the incident and demanding accountability, the ruling BJP downplayed the incident and defended the authority.

From ministers to MPs and MLAs, party leaders tweeted that “only a part of the bridge had collapsed”, describing the event as merely unfortunate. What stood out, however, was their lack of moral courage to acknowledge the reality that the bridge had collapsed.

Soon after the incident, BJP ministers, MPs, and other leaders became active on social media. All of them tweeted almost identical messages, saying that a portion of the Gambhira bridge connecting Anand and Vadodara had collapsed, which is very unfortunate. They offered condolences to those who lost their lives, praying for peace for the departed souls, strength for the grieving families, and a speedy recovery for the injured.

Health Minister Rushikesh Patel, MP Dhaval Patel, Minister Balvantsinh Rajput, MP Vinod Chavda, MP Purushottam Rupala, and former MLA Bhushan Bhatt were among those who tweeted in a similar tone, attempting to defend the government. 

Not a single leader dared to question why the government had shown such negligence despite the bridge being in a dilapidated state. Instead, they seized even this tragedy as an opportunity to flatter the high command. However, social media users slammed the government with harsh, critical comments.

Health Minister Patel wrote, “Due to the collapse of one of the 23 spans of the Gambhira Bridge, located in Padra, Vadodara district, which connects Central Gujarat with Saurashtra, the news of several people losing their lives and getting injured is extremely tragic. We pray to the Almighty that the souls of all those who lost their lives in this accident find peace and that the injured recover quickly. Om Shanti.”

Taking a jibe at the minister, a user wrote, “Can’t you write that the bridge is broken? By saying that only one out of 23 spans is broken, do you want to prove that 22 is still standing strong?”

Another wrote, “Your span will certainly break in the next election.”

Speaking to the media, Patel had also said that the bridge was maintained as per guidelines and what happened was extremely ill-fated and tragic.