The Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur after the stampede on Tuesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Sept. 30: The BJP, which has built its politics on religious causes and temples, is facing criticism for not doing anything for the safety of pilgrims in party-ruled states.

Today’s tragedy in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur was preceded by the Naina Devi temple stampede in BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh on August 3 that killed 162 people.

The BJP leadership, then preoccupied with exploiting the Ram setu controversy, had briefly commented on the Naina Devi incident before moving on to the electorally rewarding Amarnath pilgrimage row.

Today, too, the party issued a condolence message. L.K. Advani, who owes his rise to the Ram temple movement, said he was deeply saddened.

Senior party leader Jaswant Singh faced a volley of questions from reporters when he refused to even mention the state government’s responsibility in ensuring the safety of pilgrims.

Jaswant, who is from Rajasthan, kept repeating that his wife had reached the spot and he, too, was set to leave for Jodhpur. Asked if adequate arrangements had been made in view of the huge crowd expected to gather on the hilltop temple, Jaswant said: “I am told there was proper arrangement.”

When it was pointed out that the BJP promptly demands Shivraj Patil’s resignation whenever a blast takes place and ignores negligence at pilgrimage sites where hundreds get killed, Jaswant said: “You cannot compare terrorism with these accidents. Terrorism is a fight against the state.”

He, however, admitted that there could be some lapse in arrangements at temples as such incidents were repeatedly taking place.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was difficult to prevent accidents at crowded places of worship. “These incidents are very unfortunate. There is a need for a better scheme but accidents happen even with the best arrangements. There is always an element of uncertainty where such a large number of people assemble.”

He cited the Haj pilgrimage at Mecca, which has been witness to several stampedes despite elaborate arrangements.