West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Kolkata: Maha Kumbh has turned into 'Mrityu Kumbh' with the Bharatiya Janata Party in power in the state of Uttar Pradesh and the Centre, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday, citing the deaths of pilgrims at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj as well as at the New Delhi railway station.
“I will not call it a Maha Kumbh. It has now become a Mrityu Kumbh. It is like a death pit. I respect the Maha Kumbh and have reverence for it,” Banerjee said speaking at the state assembly on the motion of thanks to Governor C V Ananda Bose for his speech on the opening day of the budget session. “I respect the holy Ganga Maa. There was, however, no planning for it, apart from hype. Thirty people have died. Is it right? How many dead bodies have been immersed in the river? Thousands! Fire has broken out eight times.”
She was referring to the death of at least 30 pilgrims in the January 29 stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. At least 18 others died at the New Delhi railway station during another stampede on February 15.
The state BJP heavyweight and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal legislative assembly, Suvendu Adhikari condemned the Chief Minister’s statement, saying it reflected her "lack of respect" for Hinduism.
Adhikari, who was suspended from the state assembly for 30 days on Monday, took to X to denounce the statement of the Chief Minister. "Her lack of respect for Hindu traditions and her divisive rhetoric is an insult to millions of believers,” he said, wondering if the TMC chief had any idea that the holy Maha Kumbh event was happening after 144 years.
“Neither does she respect Hindu traditions, nor does she understand the importance of Sanatani belief and faith, which have drawn over 50 crore people till now to Prayagraj for taking a holy dip at the Sangam,” the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly wrote on social media.
"Do not try to teach me about Hinduism,” Banerjee said, reaffirming her "commitment" to secularism, development of all communities, and the maintenance of peace in the state.
“Religion is a personal matter. It is not a commodity to be traded. You sell religion, we do not,” the Chief Minister said, hitting out at the BJP.
Banerjee also alleged that lakhs of rupees had been spent on camps for the rich and the VIPs. However, the poor were being charged Rs 2,000 for sitting on mats after standing in long queues for over 15-20 hours, she alleged.
“A cup of tea is being charged Rs 500 to Rs 2,000. The place allocated for these people to take a holy dip is different from the one for the VIPs. They (the BJP government in the Centre and the State) have polluted and poisoned the holy place of Maha Kumbh,” said the Chief Minister.
Adhikari, however, claimed that the poor did not have to spend a single paisa for food and shelter after reaching the Maha Kumbh, with the "government and the Akharas and Ashrams providing shelter, and Bhandaras being organized round the clock for distribution of prasad to the devotees free of cost".
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister tacitly hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre for not sending an aircraft to bring back over 300 Indian illegal immigrants, whom President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington DC deported from the United States onboard military aircraft.
She said that the deportation of the Indian illegal immigrants from the US – "hands manacled, and legs shackled" – was “shameful”.
The Chief Minister, however, also said that she would write to Modi complaining against the BJP leaders and legislators in West Bengal for accusing her of having links with terrorists in Kashmir and fundamentalists in Bangladesh. The ruling Trinamool Congress chief said that she would resign as the chief minister of the state if the BJP could prove the allegations of its leaders against her.