Central Government utterly incompetent and only capable of PR: Congress MP KC Venugopal

In a post on X, Venugopal said, "The stampede at New Delhi Railway Station is shocking and deeply tragic. The visuals that have come out are scary, and point to a massive calamity. I convey my deepest condolences to the families of the innocent victims, and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. This kind of a disaster taking place in the national capital, under the direct watch of the Central Government, shows that the government is utterly incompetent and is only capable of PR, not actual management."

He further raised questions on the exact figure of the number of deaths.

"The Government has again tried to downplay the situation. When will we know the exact figures of the dead and injured? Why were crowd control measures not in place? Why did the railways not run special trains when they knew this crowd was to be anticipated in light of the Mahakumbh?" he further said.

Former Union Railway Minister and RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Sunday, said that the Railway's mismanagement led to the stampede at the New Delhi railway station that claimed the lives of at least 18 people.

"The incident is very unfortunate and I offer my condolences to the victims. This is a mismanagement by the Railway that led to the loss of so many lives. The Railway Minister should take responsibility," the RJD chief told ANI.

When asked about his suggestion regarding crowd management for the Mahakumbh, he said, "Kumbh ka kahan koi matlab hai. Faaltu hai kumbh (Kumbh has no meaning. Kumbh is useless)."

The stampede happened around 10 pm when thousands of devotees were heading to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh 2025 festival, causing severe overcrowding at the station.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway, KPS Malhotra, the incident occurred when a large number of passengers gathered on platform no. 14, where the Prayagraj Express was stationed. Additionally, delays in the departures of the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani led to further congestion at platforms 12, 13, and 14.

An eyewitness described the chaos, stating that the crowd came from both sides after an announcement about a train platform change, leading to the stampede.

"There was no one to control the crowd... It was announced that the train coming on platform number 12 would now arrive on platform number 16. So, the crowd came from both sides, and a stampede occurred... some people were taken to the hospital..." he said.

Delays in train departures and the sale of around 1,500 general tickets exacerbated the situation and contributed to the overwhelming crowd.

Another eyewitness recounted the horror, saying that the crowd was beyond control. People from the administration and even NDRF personnel were there, but when the crowd exceeded the limit, it was impossible to manage them.

"The crowd was beyond control; people were gathered at the foot over the bridge... Such a huge crowd wasn't expected. I have never seen such a massive crowd at the railway station, even during festivals. People from the administration and even NDRF personnel were there, but when the crowd exceeded the limit, it wasn't possible to control them," he said. (ANI)