Adityanath govt not revealing correct death toll in Kumbh stampede, facing moral defeat: Akhilesh
Lucknow, Jan 31 (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday blamed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for the stampede in the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj two days ago and accused it of hiding its failures.
Accusing the government of lying about the deaths in the Maha Kumbh stampede, he claimed that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath faced moral defeat and would be defeated politically too in the polls.
On Wednesday tragedy struck between 1 am and 2 am at the religious congregation in Prayagraj when a huge crowd broke through barriers and trampled over devotees who had been waiting overnight at the ghats to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar.
Nearly 18 hours after the incident, the Mela administration, in a brief press conference, confirmed that 30 people had died and 60 were injured in the stampede. A judicial inquiry has been ordered.
In a statement by the Samajwadi Party, its chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "The stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj happened due to the government's mistake. The BJP government is hiding its failure. It is not revealing the correct number of people who lost their lives in the stampede... so that it does not have to pay compensation. This is the government's insensitivity."
"Now even saints and religious leaders are speaking openly about the mismanagement at the Maha Kumbh and the lies of the government. Saints and seers are also saddened by the lies of the chief minister. The government is lying. The families are worried for their loved ones," he charged.
Yadav claimed that the BJP and the chief minister have lost the trust of the common people.
"This is their moral defeat. When saints and seers are also saying that the chief minister is a liar, then what can be a bigger defeat for him?" the SP chief asked.
Targeting Adityanath, the SP chief said, "The chief minister has already gone morally, now he will go politically as well. The Maha Kumbh incident is a complete failure of the government. The stampede happened at the place where the general public goes for bathing. The government should first make public the complete information of all the missing people and the dead."
"A list should be released so that the worried and grieving family members can get the correct information. Along with this, the government should make arrangements to send all the bodies to their homes in a dignified manner."
"The government had distributed invitations for the Maha Kumbh. It was said that 40 to 45 crore people will be allowed to take baths. It was claimed that world-class arrangements would be made. What were the arrangements when the invitations were given?" Yadav said, and added that even now lakhs of people and vehicles are stranded on the roads.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
