Opposition MPs walk out of Lok Sabha as Nirmala Sitharaman begins Budget speech; seek discussion on Maha Kumbh stampede

New Delhi: Opposition MPs walked out of the Lok Sabha on Saturday, demanding a discussion on the stampede in Maha Kumbh, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her Budget speech.

As soon as the House convened and Speaker Om Birla called Sitharaman for presenting the Budget, Opposition MPs were on their feet demanding an immediate discussion on the tragedy that claimed at least 30 lives.

Birla told the protesting MPs that they could raise the issue during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s speech. He took the name of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and told him to raise the issue later.

Some Samajwadi Party MPs rushed to the Well of the House as Yadav and Congress Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi raised the issue. Trinamool Congress (TMC) members did not join the protest staged by the other opposition parties.

However, Opposition MPs continued their protest, as Sitharaman started reading her speech. Shouting slogans, the MPs walked out but returned to the House a little later.

“We demanded a discussion on the Maha Kumbh tragedy. We walked out as a mark of protest against it,” Congress Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore said.

While the Minister was spelling out the budget proposals, an MP was heard asking the government to provide the list of those who were killed in the stampede.

The Opposition MPs had chanted “shame, shame” on Friday when Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar read out the English version of President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, marking the beginning of the Budget Session.

In her speech, Murmu had expressed sorrow over the stampede.

Yadav had alleged that the government is hiding the number of people who died in the stampede as they do not want to pay compensation.

“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is morally finished. Now, the question is when will he be politically finished? The government is hiding the number of people who died in Kumbh as they do not want to pay compensation. The families of the deceased must be informed at the earliest and a list of all those who lost their lives should be made public. It is the government's mistake. It is still hiding things,” he said, but refused to allege a conspiracy behind the incident.