Kolkata:
The fallout of last month’s Maha Kumbh stampede rumbled on Tuesday with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slamming rivals BJP – in power in that state and at the centre – for failing, even now, to recover the bodies of all 30 people who were killed.
“This is the ‘Mrityu‘ (death) Kumbh… I respect the Maha Kumbh, and I respect Ganga maa… but there is no planning. How many people’s bodies have been recovered?” she asked.
“For the rich, the VIPs… there are systems available to get tents after paying as much as Rs 1 lakh. But for the poor, there are no arrangements made. A stampede situation can happen in large public gatherings, yes. But it is important to make arrangements. What planning did you (the BJP) make?” the Trinamool Congress chief thundered in the Bengal Assembly.
Last week too Ms Banerjee took the UP government to task, saying authorities had still not released an accurate and final list of dead. “So many people died in the Maha Kumbh incident, but they are not releasing the correct toll. They created such hype… But no proper arrangements were made…”
Kolkata: On #MahaKumbh2025, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says, “This is ‘Mrityu Kumbh’…I respect Maha Kumbh, I respect the holy Ganga Maa. But there is no planning…How many people have been recovered?…For the rich, the VIP, there are systems available to get camps (tents)… pic.twitter.com/6T0SyHAh0e
— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2025
Thirty people, over half of whom were women and children, were killed in the stampede on January 29. Since then, the opposition, led by Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav, has been relentlessly attacking the BJP, demanding a list of those who died and accountability.
READ | 300km Traffic Jam To Maha Kumbh? Vehicles Stuck For 48 Hours
Last week Mr Yadav, a former UP Chief Minister, launched a fierce attack on the BJP, pointing to the stampede and reports of a 300-km traffic jam on roads leading into Prayagraj.
“… devotees going to the Kumbh were stuck in a 300km-long traffic jam. Is this ‘Viksit Bharat’? In which the government cannot even manage traffic? What is the point of going to the Moon when we cannot settle issues on Earth,” he asked in Parliament.
READ | “Point Of Going To The Moon?” Akhilesh Yadav’s Maha Kumbh Jab
Mr Yadav later appealed to the authorities to extend the last date of the Maha Kumbh, which is, for now scheduled to end on February 26. “Even now, many people want to go to but cannot. In such a situation, the government should extend the time limit of Maha Kumbh,” he said.
READ | As Millions Head To Maha Kumbh, A Request From Akhilesh Yadav
Among the opposition’s primary arguments is the lack of overall planning for the visit of the crores of devotees the UP government has claimed have travelled to Prayagraj so far.
To underline that apparent lack of planning, the opposition has pointed to delays of trains running into and out of the holy city, which led to another stampede, this time at the New Delhi station.
The opposition has also accused the UP government of disregarding the needs of the crores of devotees to cater for VIP and VVIP visits, including those by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, as Delhi voted in an Assembly election, and President Droupadi Murmu.
The UP government and the BJP, meanwhile, have hailed the relatively successful hosting of what is widely regarded as the world’s largest religious gathering.
Last week it said more than 50 crore people had taken a ‘holy dip’ in the ‘sangam‘, or the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and (mythical) Saraswati rivers, which is considered holy among Hindus.
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