West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (February 18) criticised the central government and the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government for their alleged mismanagement of the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking in the West Bengal Assembly, Banerjee said, “Maha Kumbh has turned into ‘Mrityu Kumbh’.”
“This is ‘Mrityu Kumbh’…I respect Maha Kumbh, I respect the holy Ganga Maa. But there is no planning…How many people have been recovered?…For the rich, the VIP, there are systems available to get camps (tents) for as high as Rs 1 Lakhs. For the poor, there are no arrangements at Kumbh…Stampede situation is common in a ‘mela’ but it is important to make arrangements. What planning did you make?..,” Banerjee added.
Furthermore, she criticised the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, accusing it of “using religion to divide the nation” and claiming there was inadequate planning for the ongoing Maha Kumbh religious gathering in Prayagraj.
“Why did you overhype such a serious event? Proper planning should have been in place. How many commissions have been sent to Kumbh after the incident?” the Chief Minister questioned.
Banerjee also accused that dead bodies were sent to Bengal from the Kumbh without undergoing a post-mortem, adding that, “They will claim people died of heart attacks and deny them compensation”.
“We conducted the post-mortem here because you sent the bodies without death certificates. How will these people receive compensation?” she revealed.
Mamata Banerjee also said she will complain to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about “his MLAs” accusing her of “being hand in glove with Bangladeshi fundamentalists”.
She challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prove their allegations of her having links with Bangladeshi fundamentalists, declaring that she would resign if the party could establish such claims.