Maha Kumbh stampede: 'Why hide death toll if there's no wrongdoing?' Akhilesh slams Centre in LS

The MP from Kannauj demanded the government provide the actual figures of those who died in the stampede and called for an all-party meeting to clarify the situation.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Screegrab | SansadTV
Updated on
3 min read

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hit out at the Union government over last week's fatal stampede that occurred at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj.

Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, the MP from Kannauj demanded the government provide the actual figures of those who died in the stampede and called for an all-party meeting to clarify the situation.

"While the government is continuously giving budget figures, please also give the figures of those who died in Maha Kumbh. I demand an all-party meeting should be called to give clarification about the arrangements for Maha Kumbh," Akhilesh said.

"The figures for the deaths in Maha Kumbh accident, treatment of injured, availability of medicines, doctors, food, water and transport should be presented in the Parliament," he added.

The former UP chief minister also demanded strict action against those responsible and questioned why the government was suppressing the figures if there had been no wrongdoing.

"For the Maha Kum tragedy, there should be strict punitive action against those responsible and those who have hidden the truth should be punished. We ask the double-engine government, if there was no guilt, then why were the figures suppressed, hidden and erased?" he said.

"Log punye kamane aaye the aur apno ke shav lekar gaye hai (People came to earn merit, but they left with the bodies of their loved ones)" he added.

Sharpening his attacks on the Uttar Pradesh government, Akhilesh said that where proper arrangements should have been made, there was political campaigning instead.

"Political campaigning in a religious gathering, especially with a double-engine government, is disgraceful and condemnable. It was claimed that the Mahakumbh would be conducted digitally and with modern technology. Based on CCTV, drones, and live streaming, those who claimed to be organizing a digital Kumbh are unable to even provide digital records of the deceased," he said.

Criticising the Yogi government, the SP chief accused it of filling a helicopter with flowers and showering petals while bodies remained in mortuaries. "When information surfaced that some people had lost their lives, what did the government do? They used government helicopters to shower flowers. Is this our Sanatan tradition?" he asked.

Akhilesh also alleged that efforts were being made, including pressure and incentives, to suppress the news.

“God knows how many slippers, clothes, and sarees were lying there and they lifted all of them using JCB machines and tractor trolleys. Nobody knows where they were thrown. To hide everything, it is heard that some pressure and some sweeteners are being given so that their news does not come out," Akhilesh said.

The SP chief mentioned that the "miraculous thing" is that the bodies of the devotees were found, but the government was not ready to acknowledge this. "Our Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister didn't even express condolences. When the President and Prime Minister of the country expressed their condolences, the government only accepted it 17 hours later," he said.

According to the figures provided by the Uttar Pradesh government, 30 people were killed and 60 injured in the stampede that occurred during the Mauni Amavasya at the Mahakumbh on January 29.

On Monday, Opposition MPs protested in both houses of Parliament, demanding accountability from the Union government and a list of the deceased. They collectively called for the government to take responsibility for the tragedy.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.
'Wouldn't have missed this no matter what': Unfazed devotees shrug off stampede at MahaKumbh

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com