New Delhi: The Opposition Wednesday hit out at the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government over the Maha Kumbh stampede, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that mismanagement and administration’s special focus on VIP movement were responsible for the tragic incident.
Gandhi also said “VIP culture” should be reined in and the government should make better arrangements to fulfil the needs of common devotees at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said “half-baked arrangements, VIP movement, paying more attention to self-promotion and mismanagement are responsible for this”. Such arrangements despite spending thousands of crores of rupees are condemnable, he said.
At least 30 people were killed and 60 others injured in the stampede that broke out at the Maha Kumbh Mela in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said.
The pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area broke out as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on Mauni Amavasya, considered one of the most auspicious days during the mela.
Opposition leaders in Uttar Pradesh targeted the Adityanath government over the stampede. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav demanded that the management of the world’s largest religious event should be immediately handed over to the army.
Yadav also said that those who claimed “world-class arrangements” in the Maha Kumbh should resign from their posts taking moral responsibility for the stampede.
“In order to re-establish faith in the system among the saint community and devotees who have come to the Maha Kumbh, it is necessary that the administration and management of the Maha Kumbh should be immediately handed over to the army instead of the UP government,” he said on X.
“Now that the truth of the claims of making world class arrangements has come out in front of everyone, those who were claiming and spreading false propaganda about it should resign from their posts taking moral responsibility for the people killed in this accident,” he said.
BSP supremo Mayawati said the incident was saddening and worrisome.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee offered her condolences to the bereaved families.
Banerjee in a post on X emphasised the need of “maximal planning and care” to handle huge assemblies such as the Kumbh, citing her experiences of organising the annual Gangasagar Mela in West Bengal .
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also offered his condolences to pilgrims who lost their family members in the stampede.
Soren hoped that the Union government would investigate the incident thoroughly and take necessary steps to prevent such accidents in the future.
“We all must learn from such tragedies and ensure proper safety arrangements in the future so that such incidents do not happen again,” he said
Congress chief Kharge said the news of “many people losing their lives” and many getting injured due to the stampede on the banks of the Tirthraj Sangam during the Maha Kumbh is extremely heartbreaking.
“Our deepest condolences to the families of the devotees and we wish for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said.
“Half-baked arrangements, VIP movement, paying more attention to self-promotion and mismanagement are responsible for this. Such arrangements despite spending thousands of crores of rupees are condemnable,” the Congress chief said in a post in Hindi on X.
“Many important ‘shahi snans’ are still left, so the central and state governments should wake up now, and improve the system so that such unpleasant incidents do not happen in future,” Kharge said.
“The arrangements for accommodation, food, first aid and movement of devotees etc., should be expanded and VIP movement should be reined in. This is what our saints and sages also want,” he said.
Kharge urged Congress workers to help the victims in every possible way.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said the news of “many people’s death and many getting injured due to stampede in Prayagraj Maha Kumbh is extremely saddening”.
“I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured.
“Mismanagement and administration’s special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident,” Gandhi said in his post on X.
Noting that there is still a lot of time left for the Maha Kumbh with many more ‘Mahasnans’ to be held, Gandhi said the government should improve the system to prevent such a tragic incident.
“VIP culture should be reined in and the government should make better arrangements to fulfil the needs of common devotees,” Gandhi asserted.
He also urged Congress workers and leaders to help the affected families.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) sought to know who was responsible for the stampede and claimed that closure of certain parts of the riverbank for visits by ministers leads to such situations.
A day should be reserved for visits by VIPs, said party’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, adding that more than Rs 10,000 crore have been spent for the management of Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj.
“Where did the money go? The BJP has been doing political campaigning through the Kumbh. It wants to market the Kumbh and contest polls. This is not their faith but politics, and people lose their lives,” Raut said, alleging that the deaths in the early morning stampede were a “murder by the state administration”.
PTI
