Amit Malviya faces backlash by blaming UPA for roof collapse

NEW DELHI: BJP’s IT Cell convenor, Amit Malviya, on Friday faced the ire of netizens after he blamed the Congress-led UPA government for the shocking roof collapse at Terminal-1 of Delhi Airport,.

Calling her the then `super PM’, Malviya demanded answers from Sonia Gandhi over the incident that killed one person and injured half a dozen others. In his attempt to respond to the flak received from the Opposition, Malviya took to X to hold the previous UPA government responsible for the roof collapse, saying that part of T-1 was opened in 2009.

Malviya’s comments enraged social media users, who asked him to accept responsibility and stop blaming others. Some X users also reminded the BJP of several other infrastructural failures during the NDA government, including the Pragati Maidan tunnel, tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand and Araria bridge in Bihar.

One X user questioned Malviya if the BJP will blame the British if the old Parliament building collapses. Another reminded him that BJP has been in power for the last 10 years and questioned if the UPA was still responsible for maintenance.

The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked airlines to ensure that there is no abnormal surge in airfares for flights to and from the national capital amid suspension of operations at Delhi airport’s Terminal 1 following the roof collapse incident. With the T1, which handles domestic flight operations of IndiGo and SpiceJet, being shut, there have been flight cancellations and operations have been shifted to T2 and T3 temporarily.

Against this backdrop, a senior official on Friday said the ministry has asked airlines to ensure that there is no abnormal surge in airfares for flights to and from Delhi.

In a series of posts on X, the ministry said airlines have been advised that cancellations and rescheduling of flights due to the incident may be done without penal charges.

“In view of the unfortunate incident at Terminal T1D IGIA, Delhi, all airlines are advised to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Delhi and take necessary action regarding the same,” it said.

Following the T1 incident, IndiGo has cancelled 62 flight departures and 7 flight arrivals.