The aftermath of last month’s Maha Kumbh stampede continued to spark controversy on Tuesday, as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Criticizing both the Uttar Pradesh government and the Centre, she accused them of failing to recover the bodies of all 30 people who died in the tragic incident.
Mamata Banerjee Calls Out BJP’s Handling of Maha Kumbh
“This is the ‘Mrityu’ (death) Kumbh… I respect the Maha Kumbh, and I respect Ganga Maa… but there is no planning. How many people’s bodies have been recovered?” Banerjee asked during a fiery speech in the Bengal Assembly.
She also condemned the disparity in arrangements for pilgrims, stating, “For the rich, the VIPs… there are systems available to get tents after paying as much as Rs 1 lakh. But for the poor, there are no arrangements made. A stampede situation can happen in large public gatherings, yes. But it is important to make arrangements. What planning did you (the BJP) make?”
Last week, Banerjee criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to release an accurate toll of casualties. “So many people died in the Maha Kumbh incident, but they are not releasing the correct toll. They created such hype… But no proper arrangements were made…” she said.
Political Fallout and Opposition Backlash
Thirty people, over half of whom were women and children, lost their lives in the stampede on January 29. Since then, opposition parties, led by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, have been unrelenting in their demands for accountability and transparency regarding the fatalities.
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Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, pointed to the stampede and reports of a 300-km traffic jam as evidence of poor governance. “… devotees going to the Kumbh were stuck in a 300km-long traffic jam. Is this ‘Viksit Bharat’? In which the government cannot even manage traffic? What is the point of going to the Moon when we cannot settle issues on Earth?” he asked in Parliament.
He has also appealed for an extension of the Maha Kumbh’s end date, currently set for February 26, arguing that many devotees still wish to visit but are unable to due to logistical failures.
Trains Delays and VIP Privileges Under Scrutiny
One of the opposition’s major concerns is the apparent prioritization of VIP visitors over the general public. They have criticized the UP government for focusing on high-profile visits—including those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu—while disregarding the needs of crores of devotees.
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The opposition has further highlighted train delays leading to another stampede at New Delhi station, citing this as another example of poor planning. The congestion has raised questions about the government’s preparedness to handle massive crowds.
BJP Defends Maha Kumbh Arrangements
Despite mounting criticism, the BJP has defended its handling of the Maha Kumbh, hailing it as a relatively successful event. The UP government claims that over 50 crore people have taken a ‘holy dip’ at the Sangam—the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers—considered sacred by Hindus.
While the political blame game continues, the tragedy of the Maha Kumbh stampede underscores the urgent need for better crowd management and infrastructure planning to prevent such disasters in the future.
