The building collapse in old Delhi’s Chawri Bazar triggered a political war of words, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of “rampant extortion” and “corruption”.
“The Rekha Gupta government and the MCD [Municipal Corporation of Delhi] have conducted multiple safety audits of buildings across Delhi, yet buildings continue to collapse. Why? Safety audits have been ordered repeatedly, but instead of taking concrete action, multiple departments have collected bribes. This is why buildings collapse every month,” AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote on X.
The party demanded that the government order a high-level inquiry into the incident and take strict action against the officials responsible.
Meanwhile, officials said that CM Rekha Gupta, along with East Delhi MP and State BJP president Harsh Malhotra, reached the spot to take stock soon after receiving news about the collapse. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Malhotra said, “At first glance, this appears to be a case of extreme greed. It seems the building owner and contractor wanted to erect the building overnight before the anti-pollution restrictions came into force.”
“In Matia Mahal and Ballimaran constituencies, under the Self-Certification Scheme, maps are being passed, and five- to seven-storey buildings are being raised overnight with half-baked raw and concrete slabs under local political patronage. This is extremely dangerous,” said Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.
He added that the MCD Commissioner should order regular inspection of maps passed under the scheme. “In this building, two slabs were laid in just 11 days, and the third was being prepared today [Thursday], which led to the accident. It is these raw slabs that are putting people’s lives at risk,” he said.
Published – November 06, 2026 01:20 am IST
