No data on Maha Kumbh stampede maintained by central govt, says MoS Home Nityanand Rai
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI): Inquiry into the Maha Kumbh stampede was conducted by the Uttar Pradesh government and no data on casualties and injured victims is maintained with the central government, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai shared the information while replying to a question by Congress MPs KC Venugopal and Kirsan Namdeo on the number of people killed and injured in the stampede and the steps taken by the authorities to investigate the causes.
Rai said "public order" and "police" were state subjects, according to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Organisation of religious congregations, crowd management, provision of amenities to devotees, prevention of any type of disaster during congregations, etc are closely linked to "public order", which is a state subject, he added.
"Conducting of any type of inquiry into any type of disasters occurred in a state, including stampedes, and provision of financial assistance to families of deceased devotees and injured persons, also come under the purview of the concerned state governments. State governments are competent to deal with such situations. No such data is maintained centrally," he said in a written reply.
The Union minister said the National Disaster Management Authority had circulated detailed guidelines on crowd management at events and venues of mass gathering. Guidelines on crowd control were also issued by the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
He said the Union home ministry had issued an advisory to all states and Union territories, advising them to use these templates to prepare their own standard operating procedures for crowd management and devise a checklist for the appropriate authorities.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Inspector General of Police Vaibhav Krishna had said the stampede January 29 stampede during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj left 30 pilgrims dead and 60 injured.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
