Jan 31, 2025 11:55 PM IST
The Congress is planning to stage a protest inside the Parliament ahead of the Union Budget presentation over the recent stampede at the Maha Kumbh
The Congress is planning to stage a protest inside the Parliament ahead of the Union Budget presentation over the recent stampede at the Maha Kumbh that has claimed at least 30 lives, people aware of the matter said on Friday.
The Union Budget 2025-2026 is scheduled to be tabled by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha at 11am on Saturday. Plans to protest before the budget session were conceived during a meeting of the Congress’s Parliamentary strategy group at the Capital on Friday, a party functionary familiar with the development said.
Given the importance of the annual budget, the Parliament session begins directly with the finance minister’s speech and skips Question Hour, Zero Hour and laying of government papers. Political parties usually refrain from any disruptions before the budget speech which is delivered at a stipulated time.
A pre-dawn stampede on the holiest day of the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday killed at least 30 people and injured another 60 after surging crowds burst out of police barricades to rush towards a narrow strip of the riverbank, trampling bystanders.
Uttar Pradesh authorities said the tragedy occurred between 1am and 2am on Wednesday as millions of devotees jostled to find a toehold before taking a dip at the holy Sangam nose on the Mauni Amavasya, considered by many as the most auspicious day of the six-week festival.
The state government on Thursday enforced stricter measures for better crowd management and safety of devotees as it restricted vehicular movement, cancelled VIP passes, increased security deployment, and ended needless restrictions on the pontoon bridges that connect the mela city.
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