Describing Datia district’s Ratangarh stampede as tragic, the MP Pradesh Congress Committee on Sunday urged Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take moral responsibility for it and forthwith tender his resignation.
“The Chief Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra who represents Datia Assembly constituency cannot evade responsibility and must put in their papers immediately,” said a statement by party’s State chief Kantilal Bhuria and parliamentarian Premchand Guddu.
The Congress demanded ex-gratia of `10 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased, `5 lakh each to the severely injured and `3 lakh to others hurt.
Squarely blaming administrative failure for the incident, the leaders added despite information that lakhs of people would arrive no security and other arrangements were in place. “The incident resulted from severe administrative carelessness. Police lathi-charged devotees and the stampede occurred claiming dozens of innocents. The Collector and SP should be placed under suspension, a HC sitting judge must conduct an inquiry and a criminal case registered against those found guilty,” Congress state organisation in-charge vice-president Rameshwar Neekhra said in a statement.
Expressing grief, Opposition leader Ajay Singh said in a statement the tragedy occurred due to administrative disorganisation and lathi-charge.
“This is the second incident of its kind in Ratangarh during the rule of the BJP that poses as a Hindutwa contractor. About six years back, 57 devotees lost their lives after water was released from a dam over the Sindh river. An ex-gratia of `5 lakh should be provided to the next of kin of each of the deceased and `1 lakh to each of the injured,” he said. The disorder in Ratangarh was such that first aid was not available even hours after the tragedy, the Congress leader alleged, while adding that even water was not provided. That resulted in several fatalities, he said and alleged that the Collector and SP reached the scene much later.