New Delhi: BJP MP Hema Milini has raked up controversy on Tuesday by downplaying the Mahakumbh stampede that killed at least 30 at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. “…We went to Kumbh, we had a very nice bath. It is right that an incident took place, but it was not a very big incident. I don’t know how big it was. It is being exaggerated…It was very well-managed, and everything was done very well…So many people are coming, it is very difficult to manage but we are doing our best…,” she told ANI.
This came after Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at the BJP in Lok Sabha over the stampede. The leader alleged that the UP government was hiding the real death toll in the stampede that erupted at Mahakumbh mela on January 29.
#WATCH | Delhi: BJP MP Hema Malini says "…We went to Kumbh, we had a very nice bath. It is right that an incident took place, but it was not a very big incident. I don't know how big it was. It is being exaggerated…It was very well-managed, and everything was done very… pic.twitter.com/qIuEZ045Um
— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2025
The UP government had claimed that 30 people were killed and 60 others were injured in the stampede, but the Opposition alleged that the toll was higher. Speaking on the motion of thanks to the President’s address during the ongoing Budget session, Yadav asked Yogi Adityanath to reveal the actual number of deaths.
BIG BREAKING 🚨 🚨
SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav, during his Lok Sabha speech today, raises concerns over the stampede at Mahakumbh and
Criticizes UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the state administration for the loss of innocent lives. pic.twitter.com/UO8EPF8GpO
— Saibpal Pandit (@PanditSaibpal) February 4, 2025
“The figures for the deaths in Maha Kumbh accident, treatment of injured, availability of medicines, doctors, food, water, transport should be presented in the Parliament. For the Maha Kumbh tragedy, there should be strict punitive action against those responsible and those who have hidden the truth should be punished. We ask the double-engine government, if there was no guilt, then why were the figures suppressed, hidden and erased?” Yadav said.
