Fire tragedy sparks war of words between Amit Shah and Abhishek Banerjee in Bengal

Amit Shah made the comment a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of the people who died in the fire.

Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Trinamool Congress general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, had a war of words on Saturday over a fire tragedy that killed at least 27 persons in two warehouses and a fast-food manufacturing unit at Anandapur in Kolkata.

This was “not an accident but the result of the corruption of the Mamata Banerjee’s government,” Shah said, while addressing a rally at Barrackpore in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

“Why have the owners of the Momo manufacturing factory not yet been arrested?” asked Shah, adding whether their “proximity” to the ruling Trinamool Congress was the reason. “Has the administration completely ceased to exist in Bengal?” asked Shah.

He made the comment a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of the people who died in the fire. He also announced Rs 50,000 for the injured.

The fire broke out on the night of January 26 and reduced two warehouses and a momo manufacturing unit to ashes.

“Should Shah and (prime minister) Narendra Modi be held responsible for the deaths of so many people at a nightclub fire in BJP-ruled Goa? Whom should they blame for the water contamination in Madhya Pradesh? Who is responsible for the deaths of over 140 people due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state? Who is responsible for the deaths of people who stood in lines for hours after demonetisation?” Banerjee said, hitting back at the BJP, which has been criticising the TMC government on the issue.

"The recent fire mishap in Anandapur, West Bengal, is very tragic and saddening. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest. An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000,” Modi wrote on X on Friday