A day after three people were killed in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Odisha's Puri, the Congress on Monday demanded that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi and his deputy resign, taking responsibility for the tragedy, and also called for a judicial inquiry.
Alleging that the BJP prioritised billionaire Gautam Adani, who attended the Rath Yatra, over the people, the opposition party said the state government has turned Odisha’s holiest festival into a private event for "billionaires, cronies, and camera crews, at the cost of ordinary devotees".
There was no immediate reaction to the allegations from the Odisha government or Adani.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress' Indira Bhawan headquarters in Delhi, Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka and party leader Arabinda Das said the Rath Yatra is not merely an event but is a 1,200-year-old living tradition.
"During Rath Yatra, the chariots themselves become mobile temples sanctifying the land. It is a time when the Lord of the Universe descends from His pedestal to mingle with devotees, breaking all barriers of caste and creed in an overwhelming display of equality and grace," Ulaka said.
Never in living memory have devotees seen the Lord’s chariot dishonoured by delay or negligence, he said.
"A festival of such importance in people’s lives has been wrecked by the BJP government. Whatever happened in Puri reveals the true nature of the BJP. For them, worshipping God is less important; what matters more is turning it into an event for political benefit," he alleged.
"The Mohan Majhi-led BJP government had claimed they would make history with a 'flawless and grand' Rath Yatra. And yes, they have made history by reducing the sacred Rath Yatra of Mahaprabhu Jagannath into a stage-managed political tamasha that ended in a stampede, sorrow, and disgrace. This is not mismanagement. This is desecration," Ulaka claimed.
The Nandighosha chariot of Mahaprabhu Jagannath could not move beyond a few token pahundi lengths even by 7:30 PM, Ulaka and Das alleged, adding that his unprecedented breakdown turned hope into heartbreak for lakhs of devotees.
"Three devotees lost their lives in a stampede near Saradhabali. Hundreds more were injured. Many, including a woman journalist, were subjected to brutal police action, even as VIPs roamed freely inside restricted cordons," they alleged.
The Law Minister, Prithviraj Harichandan, further insulted the devotees by dismissing the tragedy, saying "nothing untoward has happened", Ulaka said. If three deaths and hundreds of injuries are not “untoward,” then what is, he asked.
"This government has not just mismanaged, it has insulted the Odia people and shamed our cultural pride," he said.
Making demands on behalf of the Congress, Ulaka said there should be full disclosure of the number of deaths so that families can identify their loved ones and perform their last rites with dignity.
"Rs 50 lakh compensation be given to the families of the deceased and Rs 25 lakh to the critically injured," he said.
He also called for the immediate resignation of the chief minister, deputy CM and the law minister, "not just for failing to protect lives, but for violating the sanctity of Mahaprabhu's Yatra".
Ulaka also demanded that a court-monitored judicial inquiry, led by the sitting District Judge of Puri should be launched within 10 days of Niladri Bije, the return of the deities to the main temple, marking the conclusion of the Rath Yatra.
"We call upon the people of Odisha to stand up for Mahaprabhu Jagannath. This Yatra is not for the BJP. It is not for the VIPs. It is for all of us," the two Congress leaders said.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala suggested measures like country-wide standard protocols for crowd management and the setting up of crowd safety task force by states, as he claimed that some "unpardonable glaring failures" of the BJP government in Odisha stand out in the incident.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) also demanded the resignations of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM Pravati Parida and Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan, holding them accountable for the stampede in Puri.
A fact-finding OPCC team led by former party president Prasad Harichandan visited the holy town on Sunday to look into the stampede incident.
The team visited the spot and met the injured persons being treated at the district headquarters hospital.
"The team was shocked and saddened to learn that two critically injured patients- whose legs were reportedly completely crushed- had been discharged without proper treatment," the party said in a statement.
The team alleged that the government was making all efforts to downplay the incident while turning a blind eye to the treatment of the injured devotees, it said.
Three persons, including two women, were killed and over 50 others injured in the stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple in Odisha’s Puri early Sunday during a ceremony related to the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities, officials said.
The incident occurred at around 4.20 am when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple, they said. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital where the condition of six people is stated to be critical.
The Gundicha Temple, located around 3 km from the 12th-century shrine, is the aunt's house of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Subhadra and Balabhadra.
