Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the Hathras stampede, in which 121 people, mostly women, were killed, happened due to the negligence of the Uttar Pradesh government.

Describing the Hathras tragedy as very painful in a statement on Wednesday, he conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

SP president said, “The government and administration know well whenever such programmes take place, a large number of people come to attend them. Despite having all the information, the government didn’t make the necessary arrangements. The government is responsible for the loss of lives.”

He further said that if the government had arranged ambulances and vehicles, many lives could have been saved. “What’s more painful is that the injured who reached hospitals did not receive adequate treatment. Neither medicines nor oxygen was made available to them,” he added.

The SP chief said, “They (the government) talk of becoming “vishwa guru” (world leaders) and make tall claims about India becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, but the truth is that this government cannot provide proper treatment to the people in an emergency.”

He alleged that the BJP government in the state ruined the entire system. What kind of economy is this where there is no hospital, no medicine, no treatment, and no oxygen; he asked and said, “All the claims of the BJP government are false. There is nothing in this government except lies and loot. Corruption is at its peak with every department involved in it,” he alleged.

Pointing out that 50,000 people were allowed to attend the Satsang, he asked what the administration would have done if more people had come. “Why they did not stop it? If people were coming in large numbers, why the administration did not increase security? Why barricading was not done? Was it not the responsibility of the government, he asked.

The government is responsible for non-availability of oxygen and medicine. People lost their lives due to the laxity of the government. They should not put their responsibility on others, he said.