On Friday (28th June), a roof collapsed at Terminal-1 of Delhi airport leaving one dead and six injured. Even in a situation like this, the opposition parties found an opportunity to attack the Central government.
Taking to X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that in March this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Terminal-1 of Delhi Airport the roof of which he asserted collapsed today.
“…On March 10th, when Modi ji inaugurated the Delhi Ariport T1, he called himself“Doosri mitti ka insaan…” All this false bravado and rhetoric was only reserved for quickly indulging in ribbon-cutting ceremonies before Elections! Our heartfelt condolences to the victims of the Delhi airport tragedy. They bore the brunt of a Corrupt, Inept and Selfish Govt,” Kharge wrote.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also quick to blame PM Modi as she wrote, “Delhi Airport Terminal-1, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in March, suffered a roof collapse today, resulting in the tragic death of a cab driver…This is BJP’s corrupt model of “take donation and give business” which has now been exposed. The question is, will the Chief Inauguration Minister take responsibility for this poor construction work and this corrupt model?”
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Riju Dutta used the incident to attack PM Modi and claimed that PM Modi hurriedly inaugurated Terminal-1 of Delhi Airport for election campaigning. She alleged that PM Modi is “directly responsible” for the death of three people in the roof collapse.
“Roof collapse in Delhi Terminal 1 Airport departure area. 3 Dead including a cab driver in pillar collapse, at least 6 injuries. Tragedy & national shame. Flights suspended. For election campaigning, PM Modi had hurriedly “inaugurated” T1 in March even while it was under construction. From Jabalpur Airport to Ayodhya Station to now New Delhi Airport, “Photojeevi” PM’s desperation to inaugurate projects before completion for political mileage is the fundamental reason for such tragedies. He’s directly responsible for the death of 3 people who lost their lives because PM Modi was desperate to campaign,” Dutta posted.
Tamil Nadu Congress general secretary Laksmi Ramachandran claimed that the Delhi Airport is not an old one but rather “just inaugurated”. “OMG….Airport roof falling? It is not even an old airport, just inaugurated one! When will we wake up? This is what monopoly leads to….3 lives lost,” she posted.
Was Delhi Airport’s Terminal-1 inaugurated by PM Modi three months ago?
Amidst the political blame game started by the opposition parties, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidr said that the building that collapsed here is an old building and was inaugurated back in 2009.
“…we are taking this incident seriously…I want to clarify that the building inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi is on the other side and the building that collapsed here is an old building and was opened in 2009…” the Minister said.
#WATCH | On portion of canopy collapsed at Delhi airport's Terminal-1, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu says, "…we are taking this incident seriously…I want to clarify that the building inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi is on the other side and the… pic.twitter.com/ahb6d9ujc0
— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2024
Notably, back in February 2009, the then Delhi Chief Minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit inaugurated the terminal in question at the Indira Gandhi International Airport when Praful Patel was the Civil Aviation Minister.
