The Satya Niketan building collapse in Delhi was a tragedy that claimed the lives of 7 students living in that PG. Even as rescue operations ended and authorities began acting against those allegedly responsible, the new politicians on the horizon, called the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), stepped forward with its own seven-point list of demands to try to get the limelight from this tragedy.
These newly born politicians have issued 7 demands following the tragedy.
Among its demands are an independent investigation into an alleged “PG mafia” nexus, engineering-grade structural audits of student accommodations, a public database of safety certificates, more government hostels, compensation for victims and accountability of officials and ministers.
Yeah, all those demands are fair enough. Nobody can object to safer buildings, stronger enforcement or accountability when innocent students lose their lives. The real question, however, is why CJP feels the need to present these demands as though the government has been sitting idle.
The Delhi administration has already moved swiftly. The owner of the collapsed PG was arrested. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi suspended five officials, including senior officials from the South Zone, over the episode. Authorities have also initiated investigations and action against unsafe and unauthorised structures.
So what exactly is CJP adding to the process?
That is where the timing of its intervention becomes difficult to ignore. When the police have already arrested the property owners, the civic body has suspended officials and investigations are underway, announcing a seven-point programme can look less like an intervention and more like an attempt to occupy the news cycle.
Political parties and organisations have every right to question governments. In fact, scrutiny is essential after a disaster of this magnitude. But there is a difference between holding the government accountable and simply attaching yourself to an ongoing crisis for publicity.
The tragedy deserves serious questions like who permitted an unsafe structure to operate as a PG? Were previous complaints ignored? How did unauthorised construction continue? Were inspections properly conducted? And who should ultimately be held responsible? Notably, the Aam Aadmi Party was ruling both the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for a decade; then these Cockroaches, who all have a history with AAP, didn’t bother about the safety of these privately run PGs.
Those questions should be answered through the investigation, not through media bytes by CJP.
CJP’s intervention therefore raises an uncomfortable question: Is the objective really to improve accountability, or is it to grab a few headlines?
If the government were doing nothing, such demands would carry considerably greater political weight. But when arrests, suspensions, investigations and safety measures are already underway, jumping in with a list of demands risks looking like political opportunism.
The families of those who died deserve accountability, not a competition over who gets the microphone first.
