As multiple casualties are feared following a stampede-like situation at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Opposition leaders have hit out at the Central and Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government, accusing them of “mismanagement” and “VIP culture”. The stampede situation occurred as hundreds of thousands of devotees gathered for the ‘Amrit Snan’ on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi blamed the “VIP culture” for the incident and said that it should be curbed and the government “should make better arrangements to meet the needs of common devotees”. Offering condolences, Gandhi said that the news of “several people being killed and many being injured due to stampede at Prayagraj Mahakumbh is extremely sad”. “I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Gandhi added. “Mismanagement, mismanagement and the administration’s special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident,” the Congress leader said in a post on X. Gandhi also urged Congress workers and leaders to help the affected families. “There is still a lot of time left for the Maha Kumbh, many more Mahasnans are to take place. The government should improve the system to prevent a tragic incident like today from happening again,” he added. “VIP culture should be curbed and the government should make better arrangements to meet the needs of common devotees,” he added. Samajwadi Party chief and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said that “the news of casualties of devotees in an accident caused by mismanagement in Maha Kumbh is extremely sad.” Appealing to the state government, he wrote on social media platform X: “We appeal to our government to — seriously injured people should be taken to the nearest best hospitals with the help of air ambulance and immediate medical treatment should be provided. Arrangements should be made to identify the bodies of the deceased and hand them over to their relatives and send them to their place of residence.” He added: “Urgent efforts should be made to reunite those who have been separated. Surveillance should be increased by making good use of helicopters. Keeping the unbroken tradition of ‘Royal Bath’ going on since the Satya Yuga, arrangements should be made to conduct the ‘Royal Bath of Mauni Amavasya’ amidst safe management parallel to relief work.” महाकुंभ के दौरान, तीर्थराज संगम के तट पर हुई भगदड़ से कई लोगों की जान गई है और अनेकों लोगों के घायल होने का समाचार बेहद हृदयविदारक है। श्रद्धालुओं के परिजनों के प्रति हमारी गहरी संवेदनाएँ और घायलों की शीघ्रातिशीघ्र स्वास्थ्य लाभ की हम कामना करते हैं। आधी अधूरी व्यवस्था,… — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 29, 2025 Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also blamed “VIP movement”, “half-baked arrangements” and “attention to self-promotion than management and mismanagement”. “During the Maha Kumbh, the news of stampede on the banks of Teerthraj Sangam in which several people lost their lives and many others got injured is extremely heart-rending,” said Kharge. He expressed “deepest condolences to the families of the devotees” and wished a “speedy recovery of the injured”. “Half-baked arrangements, VIP movement, paying more attention to self-promotion than management and mismanagement are responsible for this. Despite spending thousands of crores of rupees, such arrangements are condemnable,” the Congress president wrote in a post on X. “There are still many important royal baths left, so the central and state governments should wake up now and improve the arrangements so that such unpleasant incidents do not happen in future,” he added. “Arrangements for accommodation, food, first aid and movement of devotees should be expanded and VIP movement should be curbed. This is what our saints and sages also want. Our Congress workers are requested to provide all possible help to the victims,” he further stated. The CPI(M), while expressing “shock and sorrow”, targeted the state government. “It completely exposes the mismanagement of the Yogi Adityanath led BJP government despite incurring huge expenses. We express our condolences to the bereaved families,” said the party. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that the Kumbh Mela is not an event but a matter of faith. “If you call crores of people, what are the arrangements. Women are having to sleep on streets. During Akhilesh Yadav’s tenure, the arrangements at Kumbh were the best. When Union ministers & VIPs visit it puts pressure on the system and the whole city has to be shut down. More than 10 people have died. I believe it is murder committed by the administration which is responsible for these deaths,” Raut told reporters. “More than Rs 10,000 crore has been spent. Where did it go? If there were arrangements, this incident wouldn’t have happened. The BJP is marketing this event. This is not their faith, but it is politics,” he added.
