Opposition MPs including Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday staged a walkout from the lower house of the Parliament during Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech demanding a discussion on Maha Kumbh stampede.
However, all the opposition MPs returned back to the House shortly, saying that they were demanding a discussion on the Maha Kumbh stampede and the walkout was just a symbolic exercise to mark their protest.
This is the first time in the Modi government’s 10 years that the opposition MPs staged a walkout during the Budget speech. The last time opposition MPs staged a walkout during a Budget speech was in 2013 when BJP legislators walked out of the Lok Sabha during a Budget presentation.
Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised concerns over the government’s handling of the Mahakumbh tragedy demanding immediate action and called for the Army’s intervention, highlighting the unprecedented denial of Shahi Snan by saints.
“There is a more important thing than Budget at the moment – people in Maha Kumbh are still searching for their relatives. The CM has been there many times, the Union Home Minister has gone there, the Vice President is going today and the Prime Minister will also go there – in a Mahakumbh where many people died and the government has failed to provide the numbers of deceased and those who are missing,” Akhilesh Yadav said.
“Hindus have lost their lives – the government must wake up – I had said earlier as well to call the Army there. This has been the first time that saints have denied having Shahi Snan,” Akhilesh added. The stampede occurred during the Mauni Amavasya bathing ritual on Wednesday, and resulted in the death of 30 people and left 60 others injured.
