MP Pappu Yadav speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget
session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Sansad TV via PTI
Photo)
NEW DELHI — Lok Sabha MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav on Tuesday said he
wants politicians and those with big money attending the Maha Kumbh to die
there so that they can attain "moksha" (salvation).
Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the
president's address, the Independent MP from Bihar's Purnea also claimed that
300-600 bodies were removed from the Kumbh area following the January 29
stampede whose funerals were not performed as per Hindu rituals.
"I won't name the 'baba' but will quote him... He
said all those who died in the stampede have attained 'mokhsa'. So, I want that
most 'babas', politicians and those with big money should also take dip (in the
Sangam) and die there to attain 'moksha' or 'kalyan'. I am saying such 'babas'
should get 'moksha'," he said.
The pre-dawn stampede in Prayagraj during the second
'Amrit Snan' on Mauni Amavasya (January 29) killed at least 30 people and left
60 others injured, according to the official figures released by the Uttar
Pradesh government.
"Even during (Jawaharlal) Nehru's time, people died
in a stampede during the Kumbh, but there was a count. There was no social media
then. But today we have such advanced technologies and platforms... People
there are saying at least 300-600 bodies were removed and they weren't even
cremated as per Hindu rituals," Yadav said.
The Maha Kumbh stampede continued to resonate in both
Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.
While Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the
government of hiding the exact death toll and demanded strict action against
those trying to cover up the "mismanagement" in organising the fair,
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy called it one of the worst tragedies in
Independent India.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other
opposition leaders raised the issue in Parliament on Monday, demanding a list
of the deceased.
The ruling BJP, on the other hand, said it smelt a
conspiracy behind the stampede, and those responsible for it will have to hang
their heads in shame once the probe is over.
