A day after the BJP suspended him for “damaging the image” of the party, Vadodara Corporator Ashish Joshi on Friday said he had “pledged to get justice” for the 14 victims of the Harni boat tragedy and will “remain steadfast” in his support to the families.
Joshi’s suspension from the party came a week after two women, mothers of two students who lost their lives in the 2024 tragedy, had interrupted the speech of Gujarat Chief Minister in Vadodara, questioning the alleged delay in serving justice.
Joshi questioned if the pain of the victims of the Harni tragedy was “lesser” than the victims of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Speaking to , Joshi said, “Truly, asking for justice is a crime within the party… In the April 22 attacks in Pahalgam, 26 civilians were killed and within 15 days, it has been avenged. But what about the 14 victims, including 12 innocent children, of the Harni tragedy…? It was nothing but a disaster made by corrupt officials, against whom we have all the proof. While Prime Minister Narendra Modiji has fulfilled his promise of delivering justice to the victims of Pahalgam, the local leaders of Vadodara and Gujarat have been trying to shield the perpetrators (of Harni case)…”
Joshi is a first-time corporator of Ward-15, where the New Sunrise School – where the 12 deceased students studied and two teachers taught – is located, and families of most of the victims live.
He said he has been seeking “appropriate action” against officers of the VMC who “slacked in their supervision duties” of the Lake Zone, particularly the then Executive Engineer of the civic body’s Futuristic Cell Rajesh Chauhan, contending that it was the “duty of the VMC to inspect” the project under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
In July last year, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) moved a proposal to decide on the punitive action to be initiated against Chauhan, who has been found “guilty” in the disciplinary inquiry initiated against him in the case.
Joshi has also been seeking exemplary compensation for the victims, raising the issue on the floor of the VMC’s General Board on several occasions. He said, “Why has there been no action against the officer even after VMC has found him guilty? He retired in August with all perks and benefits, except a meagre cut of Rs 5,000 from his pension as punishment. Why has he not been made an accused in the case? What about the former Municipal Commissioners, who allowed the boating facility to come up without any processes in place…? Even the order of the HC directing M/s Kotia Projects (the contractors) to pay compensation has not been complied with. But compensation is just a consolation… The loss is irreparable.”
Speaking about the episode of May 2 when Sarla Shinde and Sandhya Nizama, mothers of two deceased children — Roshni and Vishwa, interrupted the CM’s speech from the audience and sought justice, Joshi said the government ought to have “shown compassion and large-heartedness”. He said, “Instead of subjecting the two women to police interrogation, had the CM sahib asked for a microphone to be handed over to them and heard them out, he would have set the example of the sensitivity and compassion that the speaks of. But instead, they were…dragged away…”
He further said, “They (the two women) were forced to take this step as the city police had turned them away or kept them under house arrest on previous occasions when the CM was in the city. Can the pain of the mothers who lost their children be compared to anything?”
Joshi, whose public spat with then Municipal Commissioner Dilip Rana in March over the cleaning of a drainage line earned him a show-cause notice from the BJP, said he has never spoken against the party. He said, “I have always raised questions against the system and the administration… I am not someone who barges into offices and threatens officials… I have always approached through right channels, writing letters and requesting action but when the requests are ignored and people suffer, I raise my voice against such officers. If they think that such officers belong to the BJP, then I don’t agree with the party…”
While he insisted that the suspension “does not affect him much” — he will continue to hold the position as an independent corporator, as per the rules — Joshi has decided to “seek answers from the BJP”.
He said, “I will write a letter to the party to ask them to enlist the examples when I have damaged the party’s image… I only know that I fulfilled my duty as a people’s representative and raised my voice for justice and service to people. I believe in that ideology of the BJP — of Shyamaprasad Mukherjee and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. I have no agenda to be famous or become a Minister.”
Last year, Joshi had vowed not to visit the in Ayodhya, which was inaugurated just four days after the Harni tragedy, until the victims are served justice. He said, “Yes, I am firm on my resolve… Lord Ram does not ask his disciples to come and bow down only in a temple… He is pleased by service to humanity. Lord Ram is in my heart and the way he fought for his principles, so will we. Now that I am not even answerable to anyone, I will ensure that Harni victims get justice with double the power that I have…”
