Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said in Parliament on Thursday that the government would not spare anyone responsible for the explosion at the Hatta firecracker factory, but opposition MPs expressed dissatisfaction with the reply and walked out of the House.
The Prime Minister told the House of Representatives that the government was investigating and whoever was responsible for the incident would be punished.
Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into Tuesday’s explosion at a firecracker factory in Hatta, which killed 11 people and injured more than 200 others, and an FIR against those responsible for the tragedy.
According to officials, three people have been arrested in connection with the incident, including two factory owners.
The MP government has constituted a three-member committee headed by Chief Secretary (Home) Sanjay Dubey to conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Soon after the question hour ended, Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar mentioned the adjournment motion moved by Congress leaders including Ram Nivas Rawat on the issue of the Hatta factory blast.
State Legislative Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya later said the government was ready to discuss the issue immediately.
Rawat started the discussion by saying that there was an explosion in the same factory in 2015 but no action was taken against the unit owners.
“While the government mentioned that 11 people died (in Tuesday’s incident), the fact is that many people, including children, were working in the unit at the time, which is against regulations,” he claimed.
Rawat said the factory was operating on a farmland and asked officials how this could be allowed.
He said that mere transfer of the Hada collector and police chief was not a punishment and they should be suspended and an FIR registered against those responsible for the incident.
“Why was no action taken against the then (departmental) commissioner who stayed there for a month on the Collector’s orders and allowed factories to reopen on the pretext of Diwali?” asked Deputy Leader of Opposition Hemant Katare .
He also demanded action against the then commissioner over the matter.
Hatta MP Ramkishore Dogne (MLA Ramkishore Dogne) claimed when participating in the discussion that “600-700 workers were working in the factory when the incident occurred, and nearly 200 people were receiving treatment for injuries.” What happened to others? he asks.
“There is a basement in the factory. Due to the high temperature, even the iron bars used in the construction melted into rubble. Workers were buried underneath,” he claimed.
Opposition leader Umang Singh said a similar incident had occurred in Petrawad in Jhabua district and a two-year investigation into the incident was underway. But he claimed this resulted in the acquittal of all officers responsible.
“Is it a government for the people or a government for officials?” he asked.
The BJP demanded a “judicial or public court inquiry” into the incident and a compensation of Rs 1 crore to those who were permanently disabled and seriously injured.
He said the firecracker devices were located in urban areas and residential areas and asked officials if they were unaware of the situation.
Responding to the opposition’s claims, Mohan Yadav said that after getting information about the explosion during the cabinet meeting, he immediately directed Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh and senior officials to rush to Hatta to assess the situation .
The Chief Minister also apprised the House of the measures taken by the government, including alerting burn units of several hospitals, dispatching over 100 fire brigade personnel to the blast site and dispatching a large number of ambulances to deal with the situation.
“The government is conducting an investigation and whoever is found responsible, whoever he is, will be punished after the investigation,” he said.
LoP Singhar later intervened and asked the government whether it had ordered a judicial or open court inquiry into the matter and announced compensation as demanded by the opposition members against the victims.
When the chief minister failed to respond, Rawat and Singhal expressed their displeasure and walked out from the House.
The Speaker then adjourned the House for one hour.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)
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