At least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a stampede at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj last month, while 18 people lost their lives in a recent stampede at the overcrowded New Delhi railway station.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday declared that the Maha Kumbh has transformed into a "Mrityu Kumbh" due to the stampede incidents, alleging that the true death toll at the massive religious event was being concealed by authorities.
At least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a stampede at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj last month, while 18 people lost their lives in a recent stampede at the overcrowded New Delhi railway station.
“They have hidden hundreds of bodies to bring down the toll. The Maha Kumbh has turned into a ‘Mrityu Kumbh’ under the BJP rule,” Banerjee said during an address in the state assembly.
Banerjee described the stampede at the Maha Kumbh as "deeply heartbreaking" and emphasized the importance of improved planning and management at large religious gatherings to ensure public safety.
“The tragic loss of lives in such incidents highlights the importance of careful planning, especially when it comes to the safety of citizens,” she said.
The chief minister also criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for hyping the Maha Kumbh "without making adequate arrangements."
“So many people died in the Maha Kumbh (stampede) incident, but they are not releasing the correct death toll. They created such a hype about the event, and yet there were no proper arrangements at the venue,” she said.
Banerjee emphasized the suffering of Bengal residents who lost their lives in the stampede, claiming that their bodies were returned without proper documentation, which has made it difficult for families to secure compensation.
“We conducted post-mortems to ensure that their families get the death certificates,” she said.
The chief minister also criticized the "VIP culture" at the Maha Kumbh.
“While I avoided the holy dip to prevent inconvenience to common people, the event saw special treatment for VIPs,” Banerjee noted.
Banerjee also highlighted that, despite the stampede incident, the Uttar Pradesh government has yet to establish an investigation committee, unlike Bengal, where probe panels are formed after such tragedies.
Politics erupts over Mamata Banerjee's remarks
Reacting sharply to Mamata Banerjee's remark, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari appealed to the Hindu and saint community to strongly protest to the WB CM's statement.
"I appeal to the Hindu community, saint community to register a strong protest. A little while ago, on the Floor of the House (State Assembly), West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that this is not Maha Kumbh but 'Mrityu Kumbh'. Raise your voice against this attack on Hindu, on Maha Kumbh. If you are a true Hindu, rise above politics and strongly oppose these words of Mamata Banerjee," he said.
BJP leader KK Sharma added, "The way the people of the INDIA Alliance, especially the Congress Party, Samajwadi Party, RJD, Mamata Banerjee are creating controversy over Kumbh, this statement is hurting the faith of crores of people who follow Hinduism. The Bharatiya Janata Party is very vocal about such statements. It criticizes them and the people of the country, and the people who follow Hinduism will also never like it."
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan dubbed the TMC supremo's comments as 'unfair'. He said, "I think that's a very unfair comment...I think the problem in the approach of our leadership is it is very easy to comment on Sanatana Dharma or Hindu Dharma. They don't do the same level of criticism for any other religion. We have an issue with this kind of approach. They don't realise that they are hurting the sentiments of crores of people. It is not like mismanagement...Lakhs of people coming together itself is the biggest task, the toughest challenge for any government. It is not that we want bad things and unfortunate incidents to happen. I think Yogi ji's government is doing an excellent job and it is unfortunate that such things happen. I urge all leaders of such immense experience to restrain their comments. I think this is not the right way to comment."
In an interview with ANI, Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi said, "Calling Maha Kumbh as 'mrityu Kumbh' is an insult to Sanatan tradition, our culture, our social solidarity, our festivals, and this statement of Mamata Banerjee by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is very unfortunate. They should not insult people's sentiments in this way; one should try to understand the public sentiments."
