‘Act of God or fraud?’: Opposition slams Gujarat's BJP govt as Vadodara bridge collapse kills 11

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said that such an accident shows that the "hollow 'Gujarat Model' is another name for corruption".

Several opposition leaders have lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party after a portion of a bridge in Vadodara's Padra, over the Mahisagar River, collapsed on Wednesday morning, killing at least 11 people.

Officials feared that the death toll could rise as the rescue and search operations in the Mahisagar River continued. (AP)

Officials said five vehicles, including two trucks, an SUV, a pickup van, and an auto-rickshaw, fell into the river. They feared the death toll could rise as the rescue and search operations continued.

The Congress termed the collapse of the Gambhira Bridge portion a "tragic incident" and expressed condolences to the victims. The party claimed that the people of the district had been consistently complaining about the bridge, saying that it "was shaking and would collapse", urging action on the matter.

"Before the accident, a lot of money was spent to repair the bridge, but it still collapsed," it added. The grand old party went to accuse the BJP in Gujarat of taking a pay-cut commission from any contractor before they get a work order.

"Now that such tragedies are recurring in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, we have a question for the Photo-Op PM: Is this an Act of God, or an ACT OF FRAUD?" the Mamata Banerjee-led party asked.

The TMC further said that they won't wait for an answer "because he's too busy gallivanting abroad, doing dance drills and PR stunts in Namibia on public money".

TMC leader Mahua Moitra said that no action has been taken for bridge and road collapses, trains collisions, derailments in Gujarat. "But BJP state governments obsessed with eatery names on Kanwariya routes and locking up legitimate Bengali workers," she added.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate also took a jibe at the BJP administration in Gujarat. While expressing condolences to the affected families, she also said that the "hollow 'Gujarat Model' is another name for corruption".

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the incident is "deeply saddening" and expressed condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. He also announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased from PM National Relief Fund. An ex-gratia of ₹50,000 will be given to those injured in the incident.