Kharge says ‘thousands died’ in Kumbh stampede; treasury protests

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday triggered an uproar from the treasury benches in Rajya Sabha by saying he is paying tributes to "thousands" who died in the January 29 Maha Kumbh stampede, leading to Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar directing him to substantiate the statement after he refused to retract.

Kharge, also the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, was quick to add that "this is my estimate (and) if this is not right you (the government) should tell what is the truth". He said he was ready to be corrected.

"I did not say 'thousands' to blame anyone. But how many people died, give that information at least. I will apologise if I am wrong. They should give figures how many died, how many are missing," he said.

There was a stampede during the Amrit Snan on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya on January 29. According to the figures provided by the Uttar Pradesh government, 30 people were killed and 60 others were injured.

However, participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in Rajya Sabha, Kharge used the phrase "the thousands who died in Kumbh" while paying tributes to the deceased.

"I pay my tributes to the people who died in Maha Kumbh... the thousands who died in Kumbh," he said, leading to the protest by the ruling members.

"This is my estimate, if this is not right you should tell what is the truth... I am asking you to declare what the actual numbers are. If I am wrong I am ready to correct," he said.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urged him to retract his statement.

"The LoP has indicated a scenario using figures to the extent of thousands. I appeal to him, in this House, whatever is spoken, carries great weight. You have spoken something which has numbed everyone," Dhankhar said.

"A message that goes from here, even if it is contradicted, goes to the whole world. Can you go to that extent? I would appeal to you as one of senior most leaders of this country, if you put a figure in thousands I can only appeal to your conscious," he said. Even as Chairman Dhankhar called Kharge making the claim a "very sad moment" and asked him to withdraw his statement, the Leader of Opposition insisted the government give the correct figures, and continued speaking.

After Kharge finished his speech, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal accused him of misleading the nation.

He also said when Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister in 1954, 800 people had died due to a stampede on Mauni Amavasya at Kumbh, and in 1986, when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, 200 people died in Kumbh Mela due to VIP movement.

The Congress should answer on those, he said. "There are over 40 crore people attending Kumbh this time," Goyal said.

Later in the evening, Dhankhar said in the House that he pleaded with the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw his statement but he stuck to it.

"Everyone was shocked when Leader of the Opposition said thousands have been killed. An outrageous, outlandish (remark). I, therefore, direct Leader of the Opposition to authenticate the statement he has made during course of the day. This is too serious a matter to be overlooked or countenanced. We cannot have a statement made in this House to generate sensation to hurt feeling and generate chaos in the country," the RS Chairman said.

In his speech, Kharge attacked the government on other issues as well. He alleged the government was working only for rich industrialists, while the poor reel under the pressure of inflation and unemployment.

"Is this Amrit Kaal (golden era) or Vish Kaal (worst era)... Over the last 10 years, one lakh farmers have committed suicide," he said.

Goyal objected to this and said Kharge should authenticate the data on farmers' suicide.

Kharge continued with his speech, saying that in 2013, Narendra Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat, had said that rupee was in the ICU when it was around 60 to a dollar. "Now the Dollar is over Rs 87," he said. As Kharge was speaking, BJP MP Neeraj Shekhar also made some remarks, to which the Leader of Opposition gave an angry reply stating he was a friend of his father, former prime minister Chandra Shekhar.

He told Neeraj Shekhar to sit down, which led to uproar from the treasury benches once again. Chairman Dhankhar called former PM Chandra Shekhar one of the tallest leaders of the country, and urged all sides to calm down. He also urged Kharge to withdraw his remarks.

Kharge explained he has worked with Chandra Shekhar, and called him a comrade. "I don't insult anyone, I have worked with Chandra Shekhar ji..." Kharge said. Even as the Chair insisted that he withdraw his comments, Kharge continued with his speech.

He also paid tributes to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, calling him the architect of the modern Indian economy. "But Manmohan Singh was insulted several times by the BJP," he said.

"Manmohan ji kept quiet and did his work..." he said. PTI