Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday attacked the Delhi government over three UPSC aspirants' deaths due to rain-induced flooding in the basement of a coaching centre. "What they (AAP) have made Delhi today. They wanted to make Delhi a city of lakes, but 3 students died drowning in a basement (in Old Rajender Nagar). This is Arvind Kejriwal's model in the country's capital. This is the Aam Aadmi Party's model," he said while speaking to reporters in Chandigarh.
"In what condition have they brought the people to? Ask those families who lost their young children, what they must be going through, who were sending them to coaching centres for their bright future. Who knew that they would lose them? This is the kind of politics they are doing," Thakur said.
Earlier today, Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena directed the divisional commissioner to submit a report on the incident, which has sparked massive protests by the students.
BJP's New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said this tragedy was completely avoidable. She claimed that on 22 July, this was brought to the notice of AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak. "No action was taken...AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak is responsible for the death of the children. MCD, the Delhi Jal Board, and the cleanliness of drainage are all under the governance of the Arvind Kejriwal government."
Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva said that his party had been saying for the past two months that the drains in the city were not being cleaned. He alleged that the AAP government was only doing corruption. "It was the responsibility of AAP to make sure that the drains were cleaned. AAP only cares about the weight and sugar levels of Arvind Kejriwal. They don't care about the public," he said.
Sachdeva said criminal proceedings should be initiated against officers of the Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Fire Services, and Municipal Corporation of Delhi. "Delhi Minister Aatishi, AAP MLA, and AAP Mayor should resign. A compensation of Rs 1 crore should be given to the bereaved families by the Delhi government."
AAP's Durgesh Pathak called the incident "very unfortunate". He said this building only had permission for storage and parking but they had built a coaching centre and a library inside. "There are many buildings like this. I request the government and MCD to visit every such institute and investigate," he said.
The AAP MLA also demand strict action against the officials responsible for the incident. "Desilting (of drain) was done but still, there should be an inquiry. Delhi's drainage system has collapsed and the reason for this is that BJP was in power for 15 years. We have been here for the last 1 year and are working on the drains, but I do not want to get into any blame game, I want it to be investigated and strict action should be taken against whoever is responsible."