Maharashtra govt considered only Amit Shah’s convenience, alleges Sanjay Raut after heatstroke deaths in Navi Mumbai event

Raut alleged that the Maharashtra government chose the timing only because Shah did not have spare time in the evening and people died of heatstroke due to the decision. He said the event should have been held in the evening.

Written by Vallabh Ozarkar

Mumbai | April 17, 2023 11:07 AM IST

2 min read

"The government should have considered the weather before organising the event in the afternoon. The people gathered there were not political but were followers of Appasaheb," Sanjay Raut said. (Express photo by Deepak Joshi)

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After at least 11 people died and 20 others were hospitalised suffering from dehydration and heatstroke while attending a Maharashtra government event held in an open ground at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut Monday alleged that the organisers took care of only the politicians and VIPs on the stage and considered the convenience only Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Amit Shah conferred the prestigious Maharashtra Bhushan award on social worker Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, popularly known as Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, at the event, which began at 11 am and lasted for around three hours. Raut alleged that the Maharashtra government chose the timing only because Shah did not have spare time in the evening and people died of heatstroke due to the decision. He said the event should have been held in the evening.

Also read | After 11 die at Maharashtra Bhushan Award event, Uddhav and Ajit Pawar blame Govt for poor choice of time

“It was an unfortunate incident. The award was given to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, who has lakhs of followers. The preparation should have been done for all of them, but I feel that the preparation was done only for the VIPs. We also felt that instead of ensuring convenience and proper arrangement of all the followers of Appasaheb, only Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s convenience was considered. Since Shah did not have time in the evening, the programme was organised in the afternoon when there was so much heat,” Raut said Monday morning at his Mumbai residence.

“The government should have considered the weather before organising the event in the afternoon. The people gathered there were not political but were followers of Appasaheb,” he added.

Raut also said that the demand by the Congress to book the government for culpable homicide is justified, saying that it was the government’s responsibility to make proper arrangements and management of the event.

Meanwhile, Raut also said that “KC Venugopal ji (Congress leader) will come to Matoshree and discuss with Uddhav ji (Thackeray). State Congress’s other leaders will also be with him.”

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Amit Shah Maharashtra Sanjay Raut