Delhi, February 5, 2025 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): BJP MP Hema Malini on Tuesday downplayed the Mahakumbh stampede, saying it wasn’t a very big incident. She further said that the Uttar Pradesh government has been managing the grand gathering efficiently.
“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,” the BJP MP told ANI.
The stampede occurred at the Mahakumbh during the second Shahi Snan on Mouni Amawasya, claiming at least 30 lives and injuring around 60 people.
Several opposition leaders raised concerns over the government’s handling of the stampede during the Mauni Amavasya bathing ritual.
Akhilesh Yadav slams BJP government in Lok Sabha
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav today spoke in the Lok Sabha and claimed that the government had been hiding the real death toll.
“For the Mahakumbh 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?” he said.
Summary: Hema Malini downplays the Mahakumbh stampede, calling it “not a very big incident,” stirring debate and public reactions.