Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said that Prime Minister Modi should have paid homage to those who lost their lives in the January 29 stampede at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, after Lok Sabha was briefly adjourned amid protests after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the Mahakumbh.
“I wanted to support what he was saying. Kumbh is our tradition, history and culture. There was also a complaint that he did not pay homage to those who lost their lives (in the stampede in the Mahakumbh)…the youth that went to the Kumbh need another thing from the PM. They need employment. The prime minister should speak on employment,” the Congress leader said.
Opposition protests over Modi’s comments on the Mahakumbh’s success (January 13-February 26) caused the Lok Sabha’s adjournment until 1 pm Tuesday.
Modi said the Mahakumbh strengthened the spirit of unity in the country and gave a befitting response to those who questioned India’s capability to organise such a large congregation.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Modi said, “The Mahakumbh was such an event in which people from every region and every corner of the country came together. People put aside their egos and gathered in Prayagraj with the feeling of ‘we’ and not ‘I’.”
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament that he also wanted to speak in the House on the Mahakumbh but the Opposition wasn’t allowed to speak. “The LoP should be permitted to speak, but is not given permission, but this is new India, " said Rahul.
While PM Modi praised the Uttar Pradesh administration for hosting the Kumbh, the Adityanath government had faced criticism over a stampede at the Mahakumbh which left about 30 dead and several others injured.
Junior minister for home affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Parliament Tuesday there was no data with the Centre of people killed or injured during the stampede.
In a written reply to Lok Sabha, he said, “Conducting of any type of inquiry into any type of disasters occurred in a state, including stampedes, and provision of financial assistance to families of deceased devotees and injured persons, also come under the purview of the concerned state governments.
State governments are competent to deal with such situations. No such data is maintained centrally.”
Organisation of religious congregations, crowd management, provision of amenities to devotees, prevention of any type of disaster during congregations, etc are closely linked to “public order”, which is a state subject, he added.
Modi also said people speaking different languages and dialects chanting ‘Har Har Gange’ on the banks of the Sangam gave a glimpse of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’, which increased the feeling of unity.
The prime minister compared the Mahakumbh to important milestones in the struggle for independence that awakened the nation’s self-esteem.
“Be it the war of independence in 1857, the time of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom, the call of Chalo Delhi given by Netaji Subhas babu or the Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi, India achieved independence by seeking inspiration from such milestones in time,” Modi said.
Many Opposition members protested after the prime minister spoke.
TMC MP Derek O’Brien called Modi’s statement a “damage-control speech” aimed at distracting attention from issues such as tariffs imposed by the US.
“He is in damage-control mode in the international scenario ... He wants his MPs to do ‘tareef (praise)’ but Trump has imposed tariffs… Parliament is not ‘Mann ki Baat’, it is a two-way communication,” O’Brien told reporters.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi said the Opposition must have been allowed to speak about the Kumbh. “The Opposition also should have been given a chance to present their point because the Opposition also has sentiments towards it…the Opposition should have also been allowed to speak for two minutes,” she said.