Bahujan Samaj Party president and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati, on Saturday demanded strict action against Suraj Pal Singh, who is worshipped by his followers as 'Bhole Baba', in the Hathras stampede tragedy that claimed 121 lives.

The BSP chief also advised the poor, Dalits and the oppressed in the country not to get misled by superstition and hypocrisy of “babas”.

“The poor, Dalits and the oppressed in the country should not increase their pain and suffer by getting misled by the superstition and hypocrisy of many babas like Bhole Baba of Hathras to get rid of their poverty and all other problems, this is the advice,” she posted on ‘X’.

“Rather, by following the path shown by Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, they will have to change their own destiny by taking power into their own hands, that is, they will have to join their own party BSP, only then they can avoid incidents like Hathras in which 121 people died, which is very worrying,” Mayawati added.

She further said that the government should not be lax in such situations and take strict action against the guilty.

“In the Hathras case, strict action should be taken against Bhole Baba and others who are guilty. Action should be taken against other such babas as well. In this case, the government should not be lax in its political interests so that no more people have to lose their lives,” the BSF chief wrote on ‘X’.

Meanwhile, the self-styled godman Bhola Baba broke his silence on Saturday in connection with the Hathras stampede in which 121 people, mostly women and children, died, saying that “those who created the chaos will not be spared”.

In a video statement, Suraj Pal, who also goes by the name Narayan Sakar Hari, expressed his grief and condoled the deaths in the tragedy which took place earlier this week during a satsang in Fulari village in Hathras district.

Meanwhile, Mayawati also condemned the gruesome murder of party’s Tamil Nadu president K Armstrong on Friday night.

In a separate post on ‘X’, Mayawati said, “Hardworking and dedicated leader of BSP in Tamil Nadu and president of state party unit, K Armstrong was murdered outside his Chennai residence yesterday evening. This has sent a wave of grief and outrage across the society. The government should immediately take strict/necessary action so that such incidents can be prevented in future.”

She further said, “Considering the seriousness of this very sad and worrying incident, I plan to go to Chennai tomorrow morning to pay my respect and meet his family and console them. Everyone should maintain peace, this is an appeal.”