Viral video shows stampede-like situation during walk-in-interview in Gujarat: Congress, BJP spar

A near-stampede occurred when approximately 800 people turned up for walk-in interviews for 40 job vacancies in Ankleshwar, Gujarat's Bharuch district, an official told news agency PTI on Thursday.

Videos of the massive queue, filled with pushing and shoving as applicants tried to get onto a ramp leading to the hotel's entrance, went viral on social media. The ramp's railing eventually collapsed, causing several people to fall, though fortunately, no one was injured.

The incident, which took place on Tuesday, ignited a heated exchange between the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP. The Congress argued that the event exposed flaws in the "Gujarat model" of development promoted by the ruling party, while the BJP accused the Congress of trying to defame the state with the video.


"As per our information, a company arranged walk-in interviews for nearly 40 vacancies in five different roles. The company booked a hall in a hotel in Ankleshwar expecting some 150 candidates. However, 800 turned up and company officials had to shut the door of the interview hall to control the crowd, which led to the situation shown in the video," Bharuch Superintendent of Police Mayur Chavda said.

No one was injured in the melee and no complaint has come to the police in this regard, Chavda added.

Tagging the video in a post on X, the opposition Congress said, "Gujarat model of Narendra Modi. A huge crowd of unemployed people gathered for a hotel job in Bharuch, Gujarat. The situation became such that the railing of the hotel broke and the Gujarat model was exposed. Narendra Modi is imposing this model of unemployment on the entire country."


Hitting back, the BJP, in a post on X, said, "Efforts to defame Gujarat are being made through a viral video from Ankleshwar. The advertisement for the walk-in interview clearly states they require experienced candidates. This implies those attending the interview are already employed elsewhere. Therefore, the notion of these individuals being unemployed is baseless."


Spreading negativity about Gujarat was a tactic of the Congress, the BJP added. As per the advertisement, the company was to fill vacancies of shift in-charge, plant operator, supervisor-CDS, fitter-mechanical and executive-ETP at its new plant in Jhagadia industrial area.

Inputs from PTI