Opposition stages walkout over Maha Kumbh stampede during Parliament session, demands answers from Modi govt

The Opposition on Feb 3 raised questions on the Maha Kumbh Stampede last month, demanding a discussion on the tragic incident where 30 lives were lost leading to a walkout.

The opposition members stormed into the Well of the House and started noisy protests and sloganeering.

The sloganeering comes two days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on February 1.

The Opposition also accused the government of a lack of transparency and asked for an official list which states the names of those who died.

The first phase of the ongoing Budget session will run until Feb 13, resuming on March 10 and concluding on April 4.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi while talking to reporters said that the government is trying to hide answers.

"Today the opposition demanded only one thing, that the government answer on the atrocities committed with the tourists and death of people at Maha Kumbh... The government is trying to hide the answers... The topic of Maha Kumbh is very serious and should be subjected to investigation... We gave motion in urgent, but the speaker negated it,” Gogoi said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the Question Hour should not be disrupted as important issues are discussed. He also said the opposition members should allow the House to run smoothly.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Choudhary slammed the Opposition’s behavior calling them "irresponsible" about the country's affairs.

"This shows the thoughts of the Opposition. They started creating a ruckus during the question hour. The Speaker even told them that if they want to have discussions on this particular matter, they can do so during the 'motion of thanks to the President's address'... They did not listen to him and walked out," she told the news agency ANI outside the Parliament.

"They have no strategy to put forward their point and neither do they know the correct way to do so," she added.

BJP MP and former UP deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma said, "These people who were waiting for an incident to take place in Mahakumbh so that they can do politics on it. The incident that took place there is unfortunate. Investigation is underway for the same. Over 40 crore people are coming there and the arrangements are very good. The opposition will have to stop doing politics on such incidents."