‘One out of 23 spans collapsed’: Gujarat leaders face heat on social media over tone of their tweets

July 10, 2025
Gujarat Vadodara

Ahmedabad: The condolence message from the Chief Minister, along with his council of ministers and senior BJP leaders regarding the tragic collapse of the Gambhira Bridge over the Mahisagar River, has garnered heavy criticism. The reason is the insensitive tone of the condolence, in which most of the leaders said, “one out of 23 spans” of the bridge collapsed, which is being seen as a possible attempt to downplay the severity of the incident that has left at least 15 dead and others injured.

What intensified the public anger was the uncanny resemblance in the condolence messages posted on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to express sympathy for the victims of the tragic Gambhira bridge collapse over the Mahisagar River. From cabinet ministers to MLAs and even former Union ministers and current MPs, many BJP leaders used a copy-paste format to offer condolences, sparking sharp criticism from citizens online.

In what is being seen as insensitive by the public, the message from CM Bhupendra Patel’s official Twitter account said, “The tragedy caused by the collapse of one of the 23 spans of the Gambhira Bridge connecting Anand and Vadodara is tragic. I pray for the peace of the souls of the deceased who lost their lives in the accident…” In such a troubled time, what was the need to mention how many spans had fallen, when the fact is that the bridge — which was flagged as being in a dilapidated condition — collapsed, killing multiple people?

Reacting to the CM’s tweet, one user sarcastically objected to the insensitive tone in the message, saying, ‘”Only 1 span out of 23 collapsed…!” SERIOUSLY!!! Then by that logic— “Only one engine had failed in the plane,” “Only one cable had snapped in Morbi.” This isn’t an assembly election where losing just one seat doesn’t make a difference. Here, this “only one” has cost people their lives, sir.’

Another questioned, “Was it really necessary to write the sentence — ‘Only 1 span out of 23 collapsed’?”

One more user commented under the CM’s post, saying, “Sir, how justified is it for you to write that ‘only 1 span out of 23 collapsed’?
You yourself are an engineer, so you must be aware that all 23 bridge spans don’t collapse at once.
If the collapse of just 1 span resulted in 13 deaths, then by your logic, if all 23 had collapsed, the death toll would have been 299.”

Another user said, “Only 1 span out of 23 collapsed. Only one district out of 33 saw a bridge collapse. Only 13 citizens died out of 7 crore. #Dialogue_ChiefMinister”

One more user stated that 1 span has led to 13 deaths: “Waiting for all 23 spans to collapse… 23 × 13 = 299 deaths!! In Gujarat, it’s not the government that rules…
Due to weak leaders, it’s the officials who hold the power.”

Another user warned people, saying, “So now, pay attention to the other 22 spans while walking/driving. Otherwise, …….you understand.”

Questioning the tone of the message, one user said, “The Chief Minister offered condolences with the satisfaction that only one of the 23 spans collapsed. The condolences for the remaining 22 parts seem to be reserved for future tragedies.”

A user by the name of Dessie Aussie shared screenshots of the same condolence message posted by the leaders and gave them a label: ‘”One span” — the new toolkit.’ He added, “Do you even know how many lives that ‘one span’ shattered? You’ll never understand their pain. These idiots can’t even write a condolence message on their own — everyone is tweeting the same script.”

Furthermore, leaders including former Union Minister and Rajkot MP Parshottam Rupala, State Cabinet Minister Rushikesh Patel, Industries Minister Balvantsinh Rajput, MLA Purnesh Modi, Lok Sabha MP Dhaval Patel, and Vinod Chavda, among others, posted a similar message stating, “The incident caused by the collapse of one span of the Gambhira bridge is extremely saddening. May the departed souls rest in peace, and may God grant strength to their families to bear this grief.”

This uniformity in the message also led to backlash on social media, with citizens accusing the leaders of insensitivity and lacking a personal touch in their condolences.

Replying to the post of Lok Sabha MP Rupala, one user on Facebook said, “Many congratulations — only one span has collapsed, 22 spans are safe, and only 3 or 4 people have died. Just write that the rest of Gujarat’s six crore citizens are safe. And yes, there will be a high-level inquiry and low-level punishment.”

The anger of the people is visible, as another said, “May God make the walls and ceiling of the Assembly collapse during the ongoing session itself, so that the creators of such tragedies attain moksha all at once. Have some shame, sir — look at how many horrific incidents have occurred under BJP rule: in Surat, Ahmedabad, Morbi, Rajkot, Vadodara, and now this. It feels like all the leaders have come together with the intention of completely ruining Gujarat.”

“Say that the whole bridge has collapsed, not just a span. Still not feeling ashamed? You’re trying to cover up the bridge tragedy by just calling it a span collapse? Even when 9 people die, you say only a span fell? First, resign — you should feel ashamed. You’ve been in Gujarat for 35 years!” another angered social media user said.

Another user, replying to Cabinet Minister Rushikesh Patel’s tweet, said, “Wow, what a statement — you’re mourning that only one span out of 23 collapsed. Thank you so much.”

One more commented, “Whether it’s one span or two, the point is that the bridge collapsed and lives were lost. Don’t you even feel a bit of shame writing something like this? How long will you keep defending yourselves and the officials? When will accountability be fixed?”

#Gambhira Bridge collapse

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