Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala on Wednesday described the Malviya Nagar fire in the national capital — which reportedly claimed 21 lives — as a ‘big lesson’ for civic authorities, squarely blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Delhi establishment for what he called a failure to grasp the ‘fundamental basics of the country's infrastructure’. Speaking in New Delhi on 3 June, the Congress lawmaker said municipal officials clearing dubious building permissions and ignoring illegal construction ‘should learn the lesson’.

Accountability for civic failures

Chamala argued that recurring urban disasters expose a deeper governance gap, not a one-off lapse. ‘Innumerable times people are losing lives; infrastructure is getting damaged and there is so much of panic among people. Whenever such incidents happen, the government officials and the Ministry give some statements but there should be a concrete thought process to build a proper infrastructure to prevent such incidents,’ he said.

Taking aim at the ruling party's flagship slogan, he added: ‘They (BJP) don't have the fundamental basics of understanding the infrastructure in this country. This is a big lesson.’ Offering condolences to the bereaved families, he said elected representatives shared a ‘collective responsibility’ to ensure such tragedies are not repeated.

Sharp counter on Telangana remarks

Chamala also pushed back against BJP President Nitin Nabin, who a day earlier — during Telangana Formation Day celebrations in Delhi on Tuesday — had alleged that Telangana had been reduced to ‘merely an ATM’ and that its resources were being ‘displayed in the court of Congress’. Nabin had also claimed the original dreams behind statehood remained unfulfilled.

Rejecting the framing, Chamala said Nabin was ‘not aware’ of the role played by the then UPA government and the 12 Congress MPs from the Telangana region during the statehood movement. ‘There were 33 MPs from Congress from a united Andhra Pradesh, 12 Lok Sabha MPs were from Telangana, who went all in to fight for the sake of Telangana,’ he said, adding pointedly: ‘I just want to tell Nitin Nabin ji that there was no single MP from BJP during that time.’

Farmers, procurement and Kishan Reddy

The Congress MP further alleged discriminatory paddy procurement, claiming the Centre was buying only 38 per cent of rice produced by Telangana farmers, against 60–80 per cent from other states. ‘Why are Telangana farmers being partially treated?’ he asked. He also accused Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy of inaction on farmer welfare and development in the state, questioning the BJP's political prospects there.

CBSE transfers and the Pradhan question

On the recent reshuffle of the CBSE Chairman and Secretary, Chamala said the Centre was ‘so easily’ moving officers in what he termed an attempt at ‘whitewashing’. Echoing the demand made by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, he asked why Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had not resigned ‘despite so many flaws in the system’, arguing that bureaucratic transfers alone would have little impact.

The remarks set up another front in the opposition's accountability push, with Congress signalling it will keep pressing both the Delhi fire tragedy and the CBSE controversy through the coming parliamentary cycle.