Three women were killed and several others were injured in a stampede at a public meeting of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu held in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday evening.
This is the second such incident in less than a week during the former CM’s public meetings. On December 28, eight people, including two women, had died in a stampede at a public meeting of the TDP chief in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The public meetings and roadshows are being held as part of his ‘Idemi Kharma Mana Rashtraniki (Why is our state facing this fate)’ programme ahead of the elections scheduled to be held in 2024.
Speaking about the mishap, health Minister V Rajini said a woman died on the spot while two others succumbed to injuries while being shifted to a hospital. She alleged that the TDP campaigned for the past 10 days to woo people, assuring the distribution of gifts, and demanded that Naidu should own up to the responsibility for the deaths.
A police official said that as soon as the organisers of the event in Guntur started distributing gifts, including sarees, the crowd swelled and they pushed the barricades, leading to the stampede, reported PTI.
The TDP president attended the event and the tragedy struck a few minutes after he left the venue upon addressing the public meeting at Guntur.
Expressing “profound shock and grief” over the tragedy on the new year, Naidu announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, while the state government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced a relief of Rs 2 lakh each. In a statement, Naidu said that the incident was “most unfortunate”.
“I attended the event to encourage a voluntary organisation in its endeavour to help the poor. I am deeply pained that it ended in a tragedy,” he said.
Meanwhile, TDP state president K Atchannaidu blamed the Reddy-led government for the tragic incident as it failed to provide adequate security.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that he was pained by the December 28 mishap and announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured.