Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan has stoked controversy by stating that the water in river Ganga in Prayagraj was highly contaminated because the bodies of those who died in last month's stampede at Kumbh Mela were thrown into the river.
As per officials, 30 people died and 60 were injured after a stampede broke out at the Sangam Nose on January 29 ahead of 'Amrit snan' on Mauni Amawasya.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the actor-politician said: "Where is the water most contaminated right now? It's in Kumbh. Bodies (of those who died in the stampede) have been thrown in the river because of which the water has been contaminated. The real issues are not being addressed. The common people visiting Kumbh are not receiving any special treatment and there is no arrangement for them. This is the water which is being used by the people there. No one is giving any clarification on this."
The SP MP said that the real issue was that there is no arrangement for the common devotees, but no one is addressing the issue.
Bachchan claimed that no postmortem of the bodies was done and that there was a "complete eyewash" over the stampede.
She also demanded the state government provide actual figures on the stampede deaths.
Earlier in the day, Bachchan dismissed the claims of the state government that crores of people participated in the event. "They are lying that crores of people have visited the place. How can such a huge number of people gather at the place? They are lying."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed Jaya Bachchan for her remarks.
"Ms Bachchan is a good actor. Whatever she said today is from a written script that had good dialogues. However, the SP's narrative will prove to be costly for the party. The manner in which the SP has been hurting the sentiments of the Hindus, they will have to face the repercussions," state BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said.
