Opposition parties on Sunday squarely blamed the government for "gross mismanagement" at New Delhi railway station that led to a stampede in which 18 people died and demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw resign taking moral responsibility.
Several opposition parties, including the Congress, the Left, Trinamool Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, accused the government of failing to make elaborate arrangements and "covering up" the actual number of deaths.
The BJP leaders, however, sought to defend the government by posting pictures on social media that showed the situation at the New Delhi railway station had turned normal.
The stampede occurred on Saturday night after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a foot overbridge, a senior railway official said. More than a dozen people were also injured in the incident at the railway station which witnessed a surge of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj -- where the Maha Kumbh is underway -- on platform number 14 and 15 of the station.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it was extremely shameful and condemnable that the Narendra Modi government was attempting to "hide the truth" about the deaths.
In a post on X, the party said, "The railway minister should resign, apologise to the country."
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said better arrangements should have been made at the station in view of the large number of devotees going to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh.
"This incident once again highlights the failure of the Railways and the insensitivity of the government," he said in a post on X.
Party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation taking moral responsibility for the stampede. If the minister does not resign, he should be sacked for the "mismanagement" at the railway station, she said.
"We have only one and only demand from this platform. Keeping in view yesterday's incident which was a massacre, the railway minister has no right to be in his position even for a minute. The railway minister must resign with immediate effect, taking moral responsibility for the incident. Else, he should be sacked," Shrinate told reporters.
"He is clinging on to his chair shamelessly," she said while adding the Railways and Indians cannot be left in the hands of such a minister. "What happened at New Delhi Railway Station last night is not an accident but a 'massacre'."
Former railway minister and senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal said the ultimate responsibility for the tragedy lies with the minister and he cannot escape it.
The former Railway minister said the government has "utterly failed" to anticipate the rush of pilgrims and make arrangements accordingly.
Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former Railway minister Lalu Prasad said the stampede episode is very disturbing and it has exposed the inadequate arrangements made by the Central government.
"The railway minister must resign after this incident. It is a complete failure on the part of the Railways," he asserted.
The Aam Aadmi Party accused the government of trying to cover up the incident. Its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, citing witnesses, alleged an announcement of platform change for trains was the reason behind the stampede.
"They are trying to deny that such an incident happened. How long will the government's tendency of dilly-dallying and insensitivity will continue? When will the government and the Railway minister's responsibility be fixed," asked Singh, citing various rail-related accidents.
AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said the stampede shook all, and called it a glaring example of "gross mismanagement" and lack of crowd control measures. He demanded that those responsible for the stampede be held accountable.
Expressing condolences over the deaths, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi demanded an independent, judicially-monitored speacial investigation team to investigate the tragedy. In a post on X, the Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP also sought an independent inquiry into the systemic failures of the Indian Railways.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over the loss of lives in a stampede at New Delhi railway station and stressed the need for careful planning and management for the safety of people.
"Pilgrims on their way to the Maha Kumbh should have been met with proper support and facilities, not distress. It is essential to ensure that such journeys are safe and well-organised," the Trinamool Congress supremo, who is a former railway minister, said.
He party's state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, "This is yet another example of the utter failure to ensure passenger safety... The railway minister is only interested in publicity! How many more lives must be lost before he realises he has no moral right to continue in office?"
TMC Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose accused the government of "callously playing with the lives of Indian citizens" and called it "tragic beyond words".
Her party colleague Saket Gokhale demanded that Vaishnaw should either be sacked or resign, as he slammed the railways for trying to "cover up" the incident.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist, in a post on X, said, "Make the government accountable."
"The Railways have ordered an inquiry. Prima facie, it points to the utter mismanagement by central and state authorities," it said on X.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist-Liberation, claimed the stampede at the New Delhi station was triggered by delays in multiple train services during the Maha Kumbh rush and is a "direct indictment of the Central government's callous mismanagement of India's Railways".
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