BJP MLA Gopal Bhargava Confronted Over Delayed Bridge

A Spot On journalist confronted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Gopal Bhargava regarding a video showing schoolgirls wading through a muddy water body to reach their school or college.

The journalist questioned how students are expected to safely commute to their educational institutions while the construction of a local bridge remains incomplete.

Responding to the queries, Bhargava argued that there are alternative routes available for the students. He stated that there are four other bridges built across the same river within a two-kilometer radius, spaced roughly half a kilometer to one kilometer apart.

He added that taking these alternative routes would only make the students around five minutes late to their classes.

Bhargava claimed that a new bridge is currently under construction just 10 feet away from where the footage of the wading students was recorded. According to the MLA, all the pillars for the new bridge have already been erected, and only the slab work remains.

He criticized the local journalist who initially reported the story for failing to mention that a replacement bridge was already being built nearby.

The conversation grew tense when the Spot On reporter pointed out that the nearby bridge is still not ready and asked for a completion timeline. Bhargava reacted angrily, questioning her journalistic credentials and calling her questions "rubbish."

The MLA further alleged that the local journalist who first highlighted the issue had done so in an attempt to extract money from him, asking, "Is all this being done to extract cash from me? Do I have money?"

The Spot On journalist clarified that she was not from Madhya Pradesh and was not associated with the local reporter. When she pressed Bhargava one final time on when the bridge would actually be completed, the MLA replied that the construction would be finished once the monsoon rains stop.