Just days after a stampede had claimed several lives at an event conducted by the political party Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a similar mishap occurred at a public meeting conducted by TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu, where three women died.
As many as three women died and several others were left injured in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday when a stampede was triggered during a public meeting being conducted by Chandrababu Naidu in the Guntur area of the state.
This is the second such incident occurring in the TDP chief’s public meeting in a week. Eight people died in a stampede on December 28 last year in Nellore. According to the police, three women lost their lives and several other people are injured in the stampede.
Arif Hafiz, SP Guntur, confirmed the tragic news and said, “Three people died and several were injured during a public meeting held by TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu in Guntur district”.
According to the police, TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu had planned to present gifts to the public during the meeting, to commemorate them for the upcoming festival of Pongal. While Naidu left the event after his speech, the crowd rushed toward the stage to collect their gifts.
A victim woman Siva Parvathi, who also sustained injuries, said, "Nobody cares about our lives. The TDP leaders called us for the meeting and told us that they would give us gifts. We were waiting for the gifts. Many people were injured in the stampede. Nobody came to our rescue during the stampede. Instead of getting gifts, people were deceased.
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After the December 28 incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was pained by the mishap and announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured. The state government also announced a similar package for the victims.
The political blame game after the stampede had begun after the deaths of the victims were reported, with the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party pinning the blame on TDP for the stampedes.
(With inputs from agencies)
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