The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti government over the recent rain-related deaths and disruption across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), alleging that the fatalities were the result of 'man-made disasters' caused by administrative failures rather than natural calamities.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan in Mumbai, MPCC president Harshvardhan Sapkal demanded that a culpable homicide case be registered against chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, holding the government responsible for the deaths of 12 people in separate incidents across the Mumbai region over the past two to three days.
"The deaths were not caused by a natural disaster but by Fadnavis' man-made disaster," Mr Sapkal alleged, claiming that the state government and administration had failed to take adequate precautionary measures despite the onset of the monsoon.
Mr Sapkal also criticised the government's handling of the ₹7,181 crore Missing Link project, alleging that corruption and the neglect of technical warnings had left the infrastructure vulnerable.
He claimed that the project had to be closed to traffic within about two months of its inauguration because of structural issues.
According to Mr Sapkal, experts during the previous Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government headed by former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had raised 13 major objections to the project, including concerns over the alignment near the Lonavala dam, tunnel safety, geological stability and other technical issues.
He alleged that, instead of addressing those concerns, the Mahayuti government rushed the project to facilitate its inauguration and claim political credit.
Mr Sapkal further alleged that corruption had compromised the quality of construction, resulting in the collapse of a pillar and the subsequent closure of the route.
"The government has repeatedly ignored serious technical concerns to maximise commissions, thereby putting both public money and human lives at risk," he alleged.
The Congress leader also referred to potholes that developed on the Missing Link road and criticised Mr Fadnavis' reported remark that the project was still in its 'testing period'.
Calling the statement 'shameless', Mr Sapkal questioned whether the BJP-led government, which has been in office since 2014, had itself been in a 'testing phase' all these years.
He further alleged that the government was attempting to conceal corruption in the Missing Link project, just as, according to him, attempts were being made to cover up the alleged theft at the Ram Temple.
"The failure of the project is a direct consequence of corruption. The more engines they add to the government, the greater the corruption becomes," Mr Sapkal alleged, referring to the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
He also accused the government of damaging Mumbai's infrastructure for political and financial gain.
Mr Sapkal targeted prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi, alleging that he was spending more time on foreign visits than addressing issues affecting people in the country.
Claiming that the prime minister had 'surrendered', Mr Sapkal alleged that Mr Modi continued travelling abroad to avoid confronting domestic challenges.
He also said the prime minister should spend more time in India.
The BJP and the Maharashtra government had not responded to the allegations at the time of publishing.
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