Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh government of "suppressing truth" about deaths in Maha Kumbh earlier this year and alleged that "like in COVID, the bodies of the poor were erased from the statistics".
"BBC report reveals that figures of deaths in Kumbh Mela stampede were hidden. Like in COVID, the bodies of the poor were erased from the statistics. Like after every major railway accident the truth is suppressed. This is the BJP model - if there is no counting of the poor, then there is no responsibility either!" Gandhi stated in his X post.
Thirty people were killed during stampede in Maha Kumbh on Mauni Amavasya.
The Uttar Pradesh government had announced financial assistance of ₹25 lakh for the families of the deceased in the stampede and a judicial inquiry was also set up.
Earlier in March, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha that asked about the number of persons killed and injured during the recent Maha Kumbh Stampede, said that "No such data is maintained centrally.
"Rai said that 'Public Order' and 'Police' are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Organization of religious congregations, crowd management, provision of amenities to devotees, prevention of any type of disaster during the congregation, etc., are closely linked to 'public order', which is a state subject.
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