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Maha Kumbh tragedy triggers political blame-game in Bengal

The deaths of pilgrims at the stampede at Prayagraj’s Maha Kumbh triggered a political blamegame in West Bengal with the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party taking pot-shots at each other.

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Maha Kumbh tragedy triggers political blame-game in Bengal

The deaths of pilgrims at the stampede at Prayagraj’s Maha Kumbh triggered a political blamegame in West Bengal with the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party taking pot-shots at each other. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was first off with a post on social media site X which said: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh, which has claimed at least 15 innocent lives. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved pilgrim families.”

She also took a swipe at the Yogi Adityanath Government, without taking its name, writing: “My learning from our Gangasagar Mela is that planning and care must be maximal in matters relating to pilgrims’ lives in vast assemblies of people.” The post triggered a fierce response from Bharatiya Janata Party’s Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, who also posted on X: “Firstly, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims who lost their lives and those who got injured.”

He also hit back at Mamata Banerjee, posting: “Even though your expression of sadness towards the victims of the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh felt genuine at the beginning, but the subtle dig regarding the comparison with the arrangement of Gangasagar Mela exposed your hypocritical attitude. “It seems you were waiting for the opportunity to feign sorrow. “For your kind information, you don’t have and never will have the opportunity in your lifetime to plan and make arrangements for the assembly of more than 5 crore people in a single place on a single day, like the ‘Amrit Snan’ or the holy dip on Mauni Amavasya; a ritual bath considered one of the holiest events in the Maha Kumbh Mela. This year, the ritual holds additional significance due to the rare ‘Triveni Yog’ celestial alignment, which occurs once every 144 years.

“The UP Govt have done their best to contain the situation. This is not a time to show one-upmanship.” In a move to defend its party’s Government in Uttar Pradesh, the West Bengal unit of the BJP also organised a press conference at its party headquarters in Salt Lake. BJP’s chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya took a swipe at Mamata Banerjee. He said: “Mamata Banerjee is pointing fingers at Yogi Adityanath’s Government. This is the world’s largest congregation of humanity. The BJP Government had been planning for it for more than one year how to manage the huge number of people who have come from each and every part of India. We would like to remind the people that even in a small gathering in Panihati for Doi Chire utsav, due to the mismanagement by the Mamata Banerjee Government, three pilgrims had died and more than 100 injured. Mamata Banerjee is the last person who can point fingers at Yogi ji’s Government.”