The Parliament’s Budget session resumed on Monday amid more uproar, with opposition Lok Sabha MPs protesting over the deadly stampede that occurred at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj last week, which claimed 30 lives. The opposition MPs raised slogans like “Kumbh pe jawab do” and rushed to the Well of the House, demanding accountability.
The MPs also called for the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and demanded a list of the deceased, accusing the state government of withholding the true death toll. Despite the incident happening hours earlier, the government initially failed to confirm the fatalities.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla attempted to restore order but criticized the opposition for disrupting the session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also made an appeal for peace.
In an ANI video, Speaker Birla reprimanded Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi for his protest, telling him, “People sent you to Parliament to ask questions, not break tables. If that’s your aim, break it harder.”
Protesting Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav condemned the Uttar Pradesh government for its lack of attention to the common people during the incident, accusing the government of prioritizing VIPs over the lives of ordinary citizens. He further questioned the impartiality of the investigation, demanding that a Supreme Court judge oversee the probe.
Yadav also expressed frustration over the Speaker’s refusal to address their concerns while BJP MPs were given permission to raise issues, calling it unjustifiable to remain in the House under these circumstances.
Meanwhile, Congress MPs in the Rajya Sabha also protested the government’s handling of the incident. Pramod Tiwari, a Congress MP, explained that the party had walked out to demand clarity on the list of the deceased. “People are unable to meet their families, and we want to know why the list of the 30 dead hasn’t been released,” he said.
The protests had been building for days, as the Samajwadi Party, led by Akhilesh Yadav, had previously disrupted the session during the Union Budget presentation, calling for the government to address the tragic deaths at the Maha Kumbh before discussing the budget.
On the day of the final “holy dip” at the Maha Kumbh, visuals showed thousands of people arriving to the banks of the river, with additional security deployed at key areas. Vaibhav Krishna, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, assured that operations were running smoothly during the final ritual.
