Odisha stampede: Congress demands resignation of CM; Rs 50 lakh ex gratia for kin of deceased

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Monday demanded the resignations of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM Pravati Parida and Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan, holding them accountable for the stampede in Puri that claimed three lives and left over 50 injured, a statement by the party said.

The party also demanded Rs 50 lakh ex gratia for each of the deceased devotees and Rs 25 lakh for those seriously injured.

While Majhi had announced Rs 25 lakh ex gratia for the families of the deceased, the Congress said the amount was insufficient.

Three persons, including two women, were killed and over 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple in Odisha’s Puri early Sunday during a ceremony related to the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities.

The incident took place around 4.20 am when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple.

Calling the tragedy a result of gross mismanagement, the party has demanded a judicial inquiry led by a sitting district judge, rejecting the state government’s administrative probe headed by the development commissioner.

A fact-finding OPCC team led by former party president Prasad Harichandan visited the holy town on Sunday to conduct an inquiry into the stampede incident.

The team visited the spot and met the injured persons being treated at the district headquarters hospital.

"The team was shocked and saddened to learn that two critically injured patients—whose legs were reportedly completely crushed—had been discharged without proper treatment," the party said in a statement on Monday.

The team alleged that the government was making all efforts to downplay the incident while turning a blind eye to the treatment of the injured devotees, it said.

The party insisted that the judicial inquiry’s recommendations be implemented within 10 days of the ‘Niladri Bije’ ritual, the return of the deities to the main temple, marking the conclusion of the Rath Yatra.

Meanwhile, Congress MP from Odisha, Saptagiri Ulaka, and leader Arabinda Das addressed a press conference in New Delhi on the same incident.