In New Delhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to increase the compensation amount for the victims of the Hathras stampede and demanded that those responsible for the incident receive severe punishment.
In a letter to Adityanath, the former Congress chief said compensation should be given at the earliest and the injured should be given proper treatment.
A total of 121 people, mostly women, were killed in the stampede that took place on Tuesday at the 'satsang' of self-styled god Baba Bhole in Hathras.
Gandhi met the victims of the Hathras stampede here on Friday morning.
Adityanath earlier announced that the families of the deceased would receive Rs 2 lakh each and the injured would receive Rs 50,000 each as compensation.
In his letter to Adityanath on July 6, Gandhi said, "The compensation announced by the Uttar Pradesh government is grossly inadequate. I urge that the compensation amount be increased and given at the earliest."
At the same time, the injured should be given proper treatment and also adequate compensation, the Congress leader said.
"I am shocked by the news of the death of more than 120 people in the stampede in Hathras. I am writing this letter to you with pain in my heart and I know that you must also feel the same pain," he said. .
Gandhi said that he had met many aggrieved families from Aligarh and Hathras districts and had tried to share their pain.
"The incident is so tragic that I had no words of consolation when meeting the (victims') relatives. It is not possible in any way to compensate for what many families have lost in this incident, but we can definitely try to reduce their suffering by helping affected families in every possible way," Gandhi said in his letter in Hindi.
"The families of the victims also shared with me that the negligence and insensitivity of the local administration is responsible for this entire incident. A proper and transparent investigation in this case will not only be a step towards preventing similar incidents in the future, but that will also restore the faith of these families of victims in the justice system," said the Congress leader.
From the point of view of justice, it is also necessary that the guilty be given "severe punishment," Gandhi said.
"In this hour of grief, it is the responsibility of all of us to support the affected families. All Congress Party workers and myself are available to provide them with all possible support in this matter. It is hoped that, given the seriousness of all this matter, they will give special priority to the work that needs to be done on assistance," Gandhi said.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday formed a three-member judicial commission headed by a retired high court judge to probe the Hathras tragedy and study the possibility of whether there was a "conspiracy" behind the stampede.
Simultaneously, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone) Anupam Kulshreshtha is also submitting a detailed report on the episode, which will be submitted to the UP government.
So far, nine people, including two women and three elderly people, have been arrested in the case, in which "several unidentified sevadars (volunteers)" of the satsang are named as accused. The 'godfather' is not a defendant in the case.
In a letter to Adityanath, the former Congress chief said compensation should be given at the earliest and the injured should be given proper treatment.
A total of 121 people, mostly women, were killed in the stampede that took place on Tuesday at the 'satsang' of self-styled god Baba Bhole in Hathras.
Gandhi met the victims of the Hathras stampede here on Friday morning.
Adityanath earlier announced that the families of the deceased would receive Rs 2 lakh each and the injured would receive Rs 50,000 each as compensation.
In his letter to Adityanath on July 6, Gandhi said, "The compensation announced by the Uttar Pradesh government is grossly inadequate. I urge that the compensation amount be increased and given at the earliest."
At the same time, the injured should be given proper treatment and also adequate compensation, the Congress leader said.
"I am shocked by the news of the death of more than 120 people in the stampede in Hathras. I am writing this letter to you with pain in my heart and I know that you must also feel the same pain," he said. .
Gandhi said that he had met many aggrieved families from Aligarh and Hathras districts and had tried to share their pain.
"The incident is so tragic that I had no words of consolation when meeting the (victims') relatives. It is not possible in any way to compensate for what many families have lost in this incident, but we can definitely try to reduce their suffering by helping affected families in every possible way," Gandhi said in his letter in Hindi.
"The families of the victims also shared with me that the negligence and insensitivity of the local administration is responsible for this entire incident. A proper and transparent investigation in this case will not only be a step towards preventing similar incidents in the future, but that will also restore the faith of these families of victims in the justice system," said the Congress leader.
From the point of view of justice, it is also necessary that the guilty be given "severe punishment," Gandhi said.
"In this hour of grief, it is the responsibility of all of us to support the affected families. All Congress Party workers and myself are available to provide them with all possible support in this matter. It is hoped that, given the seriousness of all this matter, they will give special priority to the work that needs to be done on assistance," Gandhi said.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday formed a three-member judicial commission headed by a retired high court judge to probe the Hathras tragedy and study the possibility of whether there was a "conspiracy" behind the stampede.
Simultaneously, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone) Anupam Kulshreshtha is also submitting a detailed report on the episode, which will be submitted to the UP government.
So far, nine people, including two women and three elderly people, have been arrested in the case, in which "several unidentified sevadars (volunteers)" of the satsang are named as accused. The 'godfather' is not a defendant in the case.
