Delhi BJP sets up panel to probe Anaj Mandi fire, exchange barbs with AAP

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday announced that a "fact-finding committee" of his party will probe the tragic fire incident at a building in Anaj Mandi that claimed 43 lives, as a fight erupted over the political affiliation of its owner.

The committee headed by retired High Court judge Moolchand Garg will look into reasons behind the tragedy and submit its report within a week, Tiwari said.

He alleged that the building owner Rehan was an Aam Aadmi Party member.

The AAP rejected the allegations, saying the building owner had anything to do with the party, and claimed that he belonged to the BJP.

"People from the area are giving information that Rehan is allegedly the parliamentary representative (Sansad Pratinidhi) of Hon'ble MP Manoj Tiwari. Would request Mr. Tiwari to please explain and clarify his relationship with him?" senior AAP leader Raghav Chadha tweeted.

Tiwari said the death of 43 workers in Anaj Mandi was a matter of "negligence".

He said it was not an accident but "murder" for which the responsible people should be charged under the law for killing.

He also demanded that the Delhi government raise the compensation for the victims.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced Rs 10 lakh for the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured in the incident.

"The family members of the deceased should be given Rs 1 Crore each and the injured persons be granted Rs 10 lakh each as compensation by the Delhi government," he said at a press conference.

AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that the BJP ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) was responsible for the fire incident.

"The only agency which was duty bound in this case was NDMC and it is the responsibility of the BJP-ruled MCD. The other agencies, including fire department, come into play only when licenses and permissions are sought," Bhardwaj said.

Tiwari said that a high-level probe was required to unearth the reasons behind the tragedy and fix responsibility of the guilty.

Alleging that the Delhi government departments failed to take timely action, he said the chief minister should resign.

"In 2006, this area (Anaj Mandi) was declared a protected area and in 2017 this area was designated for redevelopment. The file concerned is still pending with the chief minister. Had Kejriwal taken any action in this regard then this accident could have been averted," Tiwari said.

The Delhi BJP chief also questioned how illegal units were running with proper power connections and why did not the Labour Department of the Delhi government raided them.