Trinamool Congress leaders on Sunday accused the Centre of trying to cover up the stampede at the New Delhi railway station and demanded that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw be sacked.
In a post on X, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the incident "deeply heartbreaking" and emphasised the need for better planning and management to ensure citizen safety, particularly during large religious gatherings like the Maha Kumbh." "The tragic loss of 18 lives in the Delhi stampede is deeply heartbreaking. This painful incident highlights the importance of careful planning and management, especially when it comes to the safety of citizens," she said.
"Pilgrims on their way to the Maha Kumbh should have been met with proper support and facilities, not distress. It is essential to ensure that such journeys are safe and well-organised," she added.
TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh termed the incident "unfortunate, condemnable, and a result of gross mismanagement" by the railways.
"This is yet another example of the utter failure to ensure passenger safety. Reserved coaches are being occupied by outsiders, chaos is rampant, and now we have this horrific stampede. The Railway Minister is only interested in publicity! How many more lives must be lost before he realises he has no moral right to continue in office?" he said.
TMC Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose accused the government of "callously playing with the lives of Indian citizens" and called it "tragic beyond words".
"First Narendra Modi and his BJP deny any stampede. Then they call it a rumour. Then they admit a 'few people' 'injured'. Then BJP is forced accept a 'few' "may have" died," Ghose said in a post on X.
"The jumla party and its jumla government keeps covering up deaths and tragedy again and again and callously playing with the lives of Indian citizens. The 'minimum governance, maximum publicity' mantra of the Modi government is again exposed by the shocking New Delhi station stampede. Tragic beyond words," she said.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale demanded that Vaishnaw should either be sacked or resign, as he slammed the Railways for trying to "cover up" the incident.
"Extremely shocked to hear about the deaths of 17 people and injuries sustained by many during the tragic stampede at New Delhi Railway Station last night. My condolences to the families of the deceased and praying for a swift recovery of those injured," Gokhale said in a post on X.
"For hours after the stampede, Railways kept denying it and said it 'was a rumour'. This was a brazen attempt at cover-up until the bodies started showing up," he said.
"Modi's part-time Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, yet again, has blood on his hands," he charged. "If Mr Vaishnaw has any sense of responsibility, he must resign. If PM Modi has even an iota of shame or concern for people's lives, he must sack Ashwini Vaishnaw immediately," he said.
"Heads must roll! Lives of India cannot be treated so cheaply," he said.
The TMC MP said this is the second Kumbh related stampede, and accused the Uttar Pradesh government of making the Kumbh Mela a "PR activity".
"This is a disaster that was preventable – we have been seeing images and videos every day of extremely crowded trains going to Prayagraj with Kumbh pilgrims. The sacred Kumbh Mela has been turned into a PR activity by the Modi and Yogi Government," he said.
Noting that this is the second case of deaths due to Kumbh-related stampedes, he said millions of people have been encouraged to rush to Prayagraj without making arrangements for logistics or their safety.
He added the situation of Indian Railways has been worsening everyday.
"There have been an increasing number of deaths on Indian Railways and the situation continues to worsen every day. And yet, the minister prefers to share video reels than address the problems of safety and overcrowding," he said.
Northern Railway's chief public relations officer (CPRO) Himanshu Upadhyay said at the time of the incident, the Patna-bound Magadh Express was standing at platform number 14 and the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was stationed at platform number 15.
The stampede occurred on foot-overbridges connecting platforms 14 and 15 at New Delhi railway station when some passengers slipped while descending, causing panic and a deadly crush, a senior railway official said.
At least 18 people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night. Railway Minister Vaishnaw has ordered an inquiry and set up a two-member high-level committee to investigate the lapses.
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