Greater Noida Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Pankaj Singh said on Sunday that the laxity of officials contributed to a building collapse on July 17, which killed nine people. “This was an unfortunate incident,” Singh told PTI. “Certainly there was some laxity on the part of the officials.”

Singh, the son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, said the Uttar Pradesh government has initiated tough action against the officials responsible and suspended some of them.

On Wednesday, the police arrested four people in connection with the incident. This includes the land owner Gangashankar Dwivedi and two associates. Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate BN Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and asked a report on the buildings within 15 days.

The government of Chief Minister Adityanath sacked Greater Noida Development Authority Officer on Special Duty Vibha Chahal on Wednesday. Adityanath also ordered the suspension of project manager VP Singh and assistant project manager Akhtar Abbas Zaidi for alleged dereliction of duty.

“A sustained campaign should be run to stop such illegal activities and stringent action initiated so that it acts as a deterrent,” Pankaj Singh said on Sunday.

The BJP leader also claimed that an alliance between Opposition political parties in the state would not hamper his party’s prospects in the 2019 General Elections. “People today want development,” Pankaj Singh said. “They have seen performances of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, and have felt cheated by these political parties. Hence, their strategy is not going to have any impact on BJP’s poll prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.”

Singh also downplayed the BJP’s loss in the bye-elections in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana, claiming that the “nature of a bye-poll is different from that of a general election”. He added that despite losing the three constituencies, the BJP had increased its vote share.