LoP Atishi Slams BJP Govt Over Monsoon Deaths, Demands Sacking of PWD Minister

Leader of Opposition Atishi has launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Delhi government, blaming it for repeated rain-related deaths in the capital. In a letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, she alleged that the administration’s lack of preparation for the monsoon has cost many lives. The letter comes after a man died and a woman was seriously injured when a tree fell on them during heavy rain on Hansraj Sethi Marg on Thursday morning.

Cites multiple tragic incidents

Atishi said the latest case was not an isolated one. She pointed out that since the current government took charge, several people have died in similar incidents. On August 9, the day of Rakshabandhan, two separate tragedies occurred a two-and-a-half-year-old child drowned in an open drain in Khera Khurd, and at least eight people, including two children, were killed when part of a wall collapsed in Jaitpur.

She also referred to other accidents this monsoon season. On July 30, a woman and her son died while two labourers were hurt after a boundary wall collapsed in Sehgal Colony near the LG Secretariat. On May 22, two people one with disabilities lost their lives and 11 others were injured during a storm and heavy rain. Atishi stressed that these deaths, widely reported in the media, were preventable and happened because of poor planning and weak infrastructure. She said people are forced to walk through flooded streets, dodge falling trees, and live in fear every time it rains.

Demands removal of PWD minister

In her letter, Atishi accused the Public Works Department of failing in its main duty of maintaining the city’s safety and infrastructure. She demanded that PWD Minister Pravesh Verma take moral responsibility and be removed from the Cabinet immediately, saying this was the only way to restore public trust.

She concluded by urging the Chief Minister to take strict action against those responsible for these avoidable deaths, adding that the people of Delhi were waiting for accountability from the government.