Hathras: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that inadequate police arrangements led to the deaths of 123 people in a horrific stampede at a religious event earlier this week in Uttar Pradesh.
The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha met families of the deceased on Friday and called for more compensation while reiterating that he did not want to politicise the tragedy.
Gandhi said: “Many people have lost their lives, I don’t want to say this through a political prism, but there is a lapse on the part of the administration. Mistakes have been made. It should be investigated.”
Gandhi left Delhi early in the morning and travelled by road to Hathras, where the stampede took place. Before reaching the spot, he visited Pilkhana village near Aligarh, where he interacted with bereaved families.
He said family members told him that adequate police arrangements were not made for the satsang, which led to the stampede. Gandhi demanded more compensation for families who lost their kin.
He emphasised that these poor families should receive the maximum compensation due to the difficult circumstances they were facing. “Main UP ke CM se vinati karta hoon ki dil khol kar compensation de,” he said.
On Tuesday, the stampede took place at self-styled godman Baba Narayan Sakar Hari’s satsang stampede in Phulerai village. He is also known as Bhole Baba.
“The families are in a lot of pain. They are shocked,” Gandhi said.
‘Not to worry at all’
Umesh Kumar, one of the bereaved family members who met Gandhi, told ThePrint that the opposition leader told them not to worry. He said they were his family and assured them he would raise the issue in Parliament.
Kumar said his daughter, who was a second-year BA student, died in the stampede. She was a disciple of the baba, and attended his programme every year. “If there was a satsang nearby, she would attend it,” Kumar said.
He said his wife was also a follower, but refused to blame the baba for the incident. He said the public was responsible for it. “The crowd goes crazy. And it is this crowd that has snatched my daughter from me,” Kumar said.
He said he was initially reluctant to allow his daughter attend the satsang because of the heat but relented after her repeated requests. Kumar requested Gandhi to give his other daughter a job.
‘Similar incidents during Congress tenure’
Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Kumar Nishad has criticised Gandhi for his visit, saying similar incidents occurred during the Congress’s tenure.
He said this was a sensitive issue and victims should be empathised with, adding new policies should be considered to prevent such incidents in the future. “Strict laws should be enacted for this purpose,” the minister said.
Nishad further said that strict action would be taken against the guilty
(Edited by Tikli Basu)