Navi Mumbai (IANS) | The image of the nine-month-old government of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis suffered its worst blow on Sunday when at least 12 followers of Appasaheb Dharmadhikari were killed after Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’ 2022. Died due to heat stroke.
Top opposition leaders from Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched a scathing attack on the government on Monday. They demanded Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s resignation and apology, hike in compensation, culpable homicide against him and a judicial inquiry to highlight lapses during the organization of the Jamboree.
The organizers claimed that the event attracted around 20 lakh followers from across the state with folded hands in buses, trucks and even boats.
The three-hour event was held under the scorching sun on a ground without any tents, trees or any other arrangement. Even during Appasaheb Dharmadhikari’s long speech, the crowd sat with amazing discipline, covering themselves with handkerchiefs, scarves, caps, umbrellas or even newspapers.
After the guests left, people hurriedly tried to return to their homes, in which a mild stampede-like situation resulted in many falling ill.
Exact figures have not been revealed, but more than 50 people suffering from severe headache, dizziness, dehydration and other symptoms were taken to nearby hospitals, where 12 ‘Sreesadsya’ were performed till midnight of Sunday-Monday. ‘ (as he is known) gasped.
Shinde, Fadnavis and others reached MGM Hospital late on Sunday night. Soon after, Leader of the Opposition in the NCP Ajit Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Arvind Samant and district Congress leaders reached the hospital. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray also came to meet the victims on Monday morning.
Pawar said, “After discussion with ‘Sridasya’, it appears that there was a minor stampede as people wanted to run away after the incident.”
Thackeray said the function originally scheduled for late evening was rescheduled for 10.30 am as Shah did not have time and innocent lives were lost.
State Congress president Nana Patole said it was the ‘most insensitive government’ and demanded the chief minister’s resignation for the tragedy.
AAP Mumbai president Preeti Sharma-Menon attacked Shinde alleging that he took Rs 50 crore to come to power, but gave only Rs 5,00,000 to the victims and demanded action against those responsible for the deaths.
Spokespersons like Atul Londhe of Congress, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT), Kishor Tiwari and Dr Raghunath Kuchik, Clyde Crasto of NCP also criticized the functioning of the government for mishandling the mega-event.
Londhe demanded, the government failed in its duty to ensure the safety of the participants and a case of culpable homicide should be filed for this negligence.
Why was the heat factor not considered before organizing the Rs 13-crore mega-event, with so many speakers giving long speeches while people were tortured under the scorching sun, Tiwari fumed. Was. Drinking water was also not available.
Dr. Kuchik questioned the thinking of squandering the scarce resources of the state. He asked why the government could not combine it with the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan-2021’ given to singer Asha Bhosle in a glittering ceremony on March 24.
Dr. Kuchik said, it was just a show of strength by the CM and Deputy CM – a pre-poll campaign in an open space instead of a closed space like Raj Bhavan or some auditorium. He presented himself as a savior of Hinduism, misusing power to promote his personal agenda.
Demanding a time-bound judicial inquiry into the disaster, Tiwari said that in view of such tragedies, the Center and the state should come up with SOPs for all such mega events to avoid any kind of disaster and loss of precious human lives. Can go
Crasto said Shinde and foster minister Uday Samant should apologize to the people of the state and order an inquiry into the incident.
Significantly, Amit Shah had praised people for sitting patiently in 42 degree Celsius temperature as an example of devotion to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari.
On Shinde’s repeated claims of being a proud ‘Srisadasya’, Tiwari questioned whose brainchild it was to gather so many people, and demanded culpable homicide not amounting to murder charges against all the organisers, including the Collector.
As the tragedy turned into a major political embarrassment, Shinde earnestly appealed to the leaders not to politicize the disaster.
Soon after being awarded the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’, Appasaheb Dharmadhikari donated the prize money of Rs 25 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
–IANS
