Opposition Slams Prime Minister's Roadshow Post Ghatkopar Hoarding Collapse

As the death toll from the giant hoarding collapse in the Ghatkopar area of Mumbai rose to 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s roadshow scheduled in the same region has sparked outrage among the people.

Sharing a news story on allegation of the delay of the crane for rescue operation because of traffic restrictions due to the Prime Minister”s roadshow, Shiv Sena UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote that the search and rescue operation has been called off now. 

In her post on X (formerly Twitter), the Rajya Sabha MP wrote, “The death toll from the giant hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai touched 16, after the bodies of the two more victims, who were located inside a car stuck within the collapsed hoarding, were retrieved. The two victims were identified as Manoj Chansoria (60) and Anita Chansoria (59). The search and rescue operations at the site have now been called off.”

When PM road show is more important than ongoing rescue operations. Not a word of regret or condolence expressed by the PM in his show that took place in the same assembly as where the billboard collapsed. pic.twitter.com/jKfNcjCDr2

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) May 16, 2024

A giant hoarding of 120 feet had collapsed earlier this week, claiming several lives and causing injuries to many. As part of the Lok Sabha election campaign, the Prime Minister had scheduled a road show from Ghatkopar West to Ghatkopar East in Mumbai. Claiming security concerns, the Metro service from Jagruti Nagar to Ghatkopar was suspended at 6 pm. The suspension of Metro service has caused significant inconvenience to commuters and led to overcrowding at Metro stations. The closure of Ghatkopar Metro Station left many commuters stranded without other options, The Hindu reports. 

Another Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Raut, also accused the Prime Minister of holding a roadshow in the same area where several lives were lost in the collapse of the hoarding. The Shiv Sena leader claimed that there has never ever been such an incident where roads were shut for a political leader”s campaign. Raut further noted that conducting a roadshow at a site where people died after a hoarding collapse is “inhuman.” 

Prime Minister Modi had held a roadshow in Ghatkopar on Wednesday to strengthen campaigns for the BJP candidates and its allies.