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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Priyanka Kakkar lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the centre over the alleged non-existence of a full-time Railway Minister in the country, which has the fourth largest rail network in the world.
"It is the misfortune of the country that there is no full-time Railway Minister for the fourth largest rail network in the world," Kakkar, the chief national spokesperson of AAP, posted on X. Casting doubts over the investigations being conducted by the BJP government over the Maha Kumbh stampede, Kakkar accused the ruling party of creating a "mess" and said that no one would be found guilty. "The way BJP conducts investigations, it is possible that by the next Kumbh, two small employees may be fired, but they have cooked up such a mess that no one will be found guilty," the AAP spokesperson added. Referring to the statements given by Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Northern Railways (NR) and Delhi police, Kakkar said, "Two departments of the government have given different statements, so you can imagine what will be the condition of the investigation." She further accused the BJP of trying to "cover up" the stampede incident. "If they could try to cover up (the stampede incident) in the country's capital, what would they do in small cities of the country?" Kakkar asserted, adding, "What must have happened to those who lost their loved ones in last night's accident when they were told that no accident occurred." Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien on Sunday took a dig at Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, citing his colleague Abhishek Banerjee's speech in Lok Sabha, where the latter accused Vaishnaw of "juggling" between three ministries. Over a week ago, Banerjee hit out at Vaishnaw, calling him a "half-minister," saying that running the Indian railways was not a "side gig." Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also jumped into the criticism, labelling the railway minister as a "reel minister". The stampede occurred around 10 pm when thousands of devotees were heading to Prayagraj Mahakumbh, 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. 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. Most of the bodies of the deceased brought to the national capital's Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital following the stampede at the New Delhi Railway station had injuries on their chest and abdomen areas, with asphyxia being the likely cause of death, according to RML hospital sources. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh was announced by the Indian Railways for the families of the deceased who lost their lives in the tragic incident. Additionally, the Indian Railways announced a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh for those seriously injured in the incident and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries. (ANI)
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