West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh was not disclosing the correct death toll figure in the Maha Kumbh stampede.
“So many people died in the Maha Kumbh incident, but they are not releasing the correct death toll. They have created such hype that a large number of people visited Maha Kumbh but there were no proper arrangements made at the venue,” the Chief Minister said, addressing a press conference in the State Assembly after the budget for 2025-26 was tabled in the House. According to the Uttar Pradesh government 30 people died during the stampede in Maha Kumbh on January 29.
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The Trinamool Congress chairperson claimed she had watched videos on social media of piles of clothes and slippers being recovered from the venue where the stampede took place. Ms. Banerjee also said that the media has been coerced and was not reporting the truth.
Targets Finance Minister
The Chief Minister’s remarks came a day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that “anomalies” had been found in the implementation of several centrally-sponsored schemes in West Bengal. “It is ironical that the TMC , a party that prides itself on being rooted in the grassroots, now symbolises harassment and denial of rights to the people living at the grassroots,” the Finance Minister had said in the Lok Sabha
Responding to the criticism, Ms. Banerjee said, “Nirmala Devi, you should think less about West Bengal.” “Nirmala ji, what happened to the Ujjwala Scheme (Yojana) which was launched before the elections. What is the future of the scheme? You only make speeches,” the Chief Minister said.
Accusing the Union Government of trying to control the States and “bulldoze the federal structure,” Ms. Banerjee said that now even BJP ruled states like Gujarat claim that funds due to the State are not being released by the Centre. ”The country cannot be strong without a strong federal structure,” the Chief Minister said.
Voters list manipulation
Ms. Banerjee also lashed out at the Centre for “using the Election Commission of India to add people to the voter lists online.”
“Why are additions to the voter list being made online? To include a name in the voter’s list a person has to be physically present. Names of people from Bihar are being included in the voter list here, why would this happen,” she said.
She questioned the Maharashtra voter’s list growing by 40 lakh, the Trinamool Congress chairperson said she knew what was being planned ahead of the Assembly polls in West Bengal.
“Some people are able to understand mathematics a little later. We have understood the arithmetic,” she said. The Chief Minister alleged that the plan is to include 20,000 to 30,000 voters from other states in the voters list in every assembly segment of the State.
“We will foil the plan, because what other states cannot do, West Bengal can. This is because freedom started here,” Ms. Banerjee said.
