New Delhi: Opposition parties on Sunday squarely blamed the government for “gross mismanagement” at New Delhi railway
station that led to a stampede in which 18 people died and demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw resign, taking moral responsibility.
Several opposition parties, including the Congress, the Left, Trinamool Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, accused the government of failing to make elaborate arrangements and “covering up” the actual number of deaths.
The BJP leaders, however, sought to defend the government by posting pictures on social media that showed the situation at the New Delhi railway station had turned normal.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called it “extremely shameful and condemnable that the Narendra Modi government was attempting to hide the truth” about the deaths. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi stated that “better arrangements should have been made at the station in view of the large number of devotees going to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh.”
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate declared, “Keeping in view yesterday’s incident which was a massacre, the railway minister has no right to be in his position even for a minute. The railway minister must resign with immediate effect, taking moral responsibility for the incident. Else, he should be sacked.”
RJD supremo and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad termed the episode “very disturbing” and stated, “The railway minister must resign after this incident. It is a complete failure on part of the Railways.”
AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh cited witnesses who alleged that “an announcement of platform change for trains was the reason behind the stampede.”
The Aam Aadmi Party accused the government of trying to cover up the incident. Its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, citing witnesses, alleged an announcement of platform change for trains was the reason behind the stampede.
Expressing condolences over the deaths, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi demanded an independent, judicially-monitored speacial investigation team to investigate the tragedy.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over the loss of lives in a stampede at New Delhi railway station and stressed the need for careful planning and management for the safety of people.
“Pilgrims on their way to the Maha Kumbh should have been met with proper support and facilities, not distress. It is essential to ensure that such journeys are safe and well-organised,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, who is a former railway minister, said.
The CPI(M), in a post on X, said, “Make the government accountable.”
“The Railways have ordered an inquiry. Prima facie, it points to the utter mismanagement by central and state authorities,” it said on X.
The CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, claimed the stampede at the New Delhi station was triggered by delays in multiple train services during the Maha Kumbh rush and is a “direct indictment of the Central government’s callous mismanagement of India’s Railways”..