Kalaburagi (Karnataka) [India], October 18 (ANI): Following the stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata that claimed 19 lives, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday said that the incident is unfortunate and urged not to "politicise it".
The stampede claimed 19 lives and left 25 people hospitalised.
Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kharge added that the Adhikari-led government is Bengal and Centre leadership should learn a lesson from such kind of incidents.
Speaking to reporters on the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal stampede incident, Priyank Kharge said, "It's an unfortunate incident, and we don't want to politicise these things, but I would like to draw the attention of the BJP leaders of West Bengal as well as the central leadership to what their comments were when the flyover collapsed in West Bengal, and people had died... My only request is that I hope the BJP learns a lesson from such things. This can happen to anyone, to any government. And that they show some empathy rather than politicise things."
Following the tragedy, Kolkata Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, across parts of the city for three days, effective from October 18 to October 20, to maintain law and order.
According to an order issued by Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, the restrictions have been enforced in areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Bowbazar Police Station, specifically bounded by College Street, Central Avenue (CR Avenue), Colootola Street, and Eden Hospital Road.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police arrested seven people in connection with the stampede.
According to Kolkata Police, the arrested persons include Raj Kumar Sewda, alias Raja (48), the secretary of the puja committee; Santanu Dubey (55), its vice-president; and Biplab Mukherjee, alias Joy (48), who was engaged in the construction of a bamboo structure.
Reacting to Kiren Rijiju's remarks, he added, "Who said India is Bangladesh? Is Mr. Rijiju the minister for Bangladesh? Who said it is Bangladesh? We are a democratic country; what happens in a democracy? That is airing our differences openly, protesting against the government, seeking out, reaching out to the government, giving suggestions to the government. This is what democracy is, right? So if you are not allowed to reach out to the government, you have a problem. Why are they comparing us to Bangladesh?..." (ANI)
"Hope BJP learns lesson from such incident": Priyank Kharge on Chorbagan pandal stampede
