BJP blames govt for mishap at Aero India

The fire mishap incident where more than 340 cars were gutted during the Aero India 2019 at the Yelahanka Air Base on Saturday, took a political colour, with the state BJP blaming the state government for the incident.

Charging that the state police department had failed to take any precautionary or safety measures, Opposition leader in the Assembly and BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa demanded a high-level probe into the fire accident.

Addressing the media in Bengaluru on Sunday, Yeddyurappa said that the fire could have been prevented, if the authorities concerned had conducted a spot inspection before giving the no objection certificate (NoC) for the parking contract.

He also said that the government had remained lax when terrorist activities were on the rise.

"Who gave the NoC to the people in charge of the parking lot? Also, why were there no fire tenders at the spot as a precautionary measure. The state government has failed miserably in taking safety measures and making peripheral arrangements during an international event like Aero India, especially when terrorist activities are increasing in the country. Hundreds who had bought cars from their hard earned money have not just lost their vehicles, but also many valuable items and documents,” he said.

Yeddyurappa also attacked the state government for pinning the blame on the Defense Ministry for not putting in place the safety measure.

"The Defense Ministry is responsible only for organising the show inside the air base. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Home Minister M B Patil are guilty of the incident. They have conveniently put the onus on the Centre. A high-level enquiry should be ordered to find out the truth and those responsible for the incident should be punished,” he added. Yeddyurappa later inspected the spot of the fire mishap.

Patil, who too visited the spot, said that the Defense Ministry had outsourced the event management of the show to a private agency. He had also attacked the BJP for politicising the fire mishap.

Responding to BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje’s charges against the government, Patil had said, “Instead of working together it is a disgrace that you (Karandlaje) are politicising a serious incident. Please do not insult our state and police force. I have asked for a thorough investigation.”