New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hema Malini on Tuesday made an insensitive remark on the stampede during the Maha Kumbh 2025 in which 30 people were lost their lives while 60 others were injured. The actor-turned-politician said that the stampede that took place on January 29 during the Maha Kumbh was not a “big” incident.

Malini said that the Opposition exaggerated the incident. She also lauded the Uttar Pradesh government for arrangements at the Maha Kumbh. While replying to a question on Akhilesh Yadav targeting the BJP government at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh over the stampede, the Lok Sabha MP said, “His job is to speak wrongly. We went to Kumbh, we had a very nice bath. It is right that an incident took place, but it was not a very big incident. “

“It is being exaggerated…It was very well-managed, and everything was done very well…So many people are coming, it is very difficult to manage but we are doing our best,” she added.

Congress’s Reaction:

Malini’s statement stirred a political controversy. The Congress hit back at the BJP over its MP’s statement. The grand old party called the remark “shameful”. “Due to the incompetence of the BJP government, a large number of people lost their lives in Kumbh.On this extremely sad incident, BJP MP Hema Malini said- ‘This was not such a big incident, it is being blown out of proportion’ This statement is shameful; it is the height of insensitivity,” the Congress said in its X post.

“From the very first day, the BJP government and the entire government machinery have been trying to cover up this incident. Till now it has not been revealed how many people have lost their lives. The victims’ families have been left to fend for themselves and all efforts are being made to suppress the incident,” it added.

What Opposition Said On Maha Kumbh Stampede:

Several opposition leaders raised concerns over the government’s handling of the stampede during the Mauni Amavasya bathing ritual.

Earlier today, Yadav demanded transparency regarding the fatalities at the Maha Kumbh stampede, urging the government to present accurate figures on the deaths, treatment of the injured, and arrangements made for the event.

Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s Address, Akhilesh called for an all-party meeting to clarify the situation and recommended that disaster management and the lost and found centre be handed over to the Army.

The SP chief also pressed for strict punitive action against those responsible for the tragedy and those who concealed the facts, questioning the government’s decision to suppress the numbers.

“For the Maha Kumbh tragedy, there should be strict punitive action against those responsible and those who have hidden the truth should be punished. We ask the double-engine government, if there was no guilt, then why were the figures suppressed, hidden and erased?” he added.

“Log punye kamane aaye the aur apno ke shav lekar gaye hai (People came to earn merit, but they left with the bodies of their loved ones)” the SP Chief said.

Kolkata, Feb 4: The five accused in the multi-crore financial irregularities case at state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, including the former and controversial principal of the institute Sandip Ghosh, on Tuesday, sought exemption from the case.

Besides Ghosh, four others who have sought similar exemption from the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), are his assistant-cum- bodyguard Afsar Ali, private contractors Biplab Sinha and Suman Hazra and a junior doctor Ashish Pandey. All of them are in judicial custody now.

The hearing for framing of charge in the case is likely on Wednesday at a special court in Kolkata. It is learnt that the hearing on exemption petitions by the five accused will be conducted simultaneously with the hearing on charge-framing.

On January 28, the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh directed the CBI, which is investigating the case, to complete the process of framing charges against the five accused individuals by February 6.

Recently, Ghosh also approached the bench of Justice Ghosh with a plea seeking more time before the framing of the charges could begin. However, Justice Ghosh summarily rejected the petition.

As per the chargesheet filed by CBI in the financial irregularities case, the main charges are manipulations in the tendering process, getting infrastructure-related work at R.G. Kar done by private outsourced agencies bypassing the state Public Works Department, “smuggling” bio-medical wastes from the hospital and selling the organs of the unidentified bodies coming to the hospital morgue for autopsy.

In the charge sheet, the investigating officials also gave details on the skyrocketing increase in the quantum of assets and properties of the accused persons, especially Ghosh, during his tenure as the R.G. Kar principal.

In the chargesheet, Ghosh has been identified as the mastermind of the financial irregularities in the case.

New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, strongly opposed the Waqf Bill during the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting in the Lok Sabha on February 4.

Owaisi warned the Modi government against tabling the bill in its current form, saying that it will lead to “social instability in the country.” The AIMIM chief emphasised that the Muslim community has rejected the bill in its present form as it violates Articles 25, 26 and 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantee rights to religious equality and freedom.

“I am cautioning and warning this government – if you bring and make a Waqf law in the present form, which will be a violation of Articles 25, 26 and 14, it will lead to social instability in this country. It has been rejected by the entire Muslim community. No Waqf property will be left, nothing will be left,” Owaisi said during his address in the Lok Sabha.

“As a proud Indian Muslim, I will not lose an inch of my Masjid…I will not lose an inch of my Dargah. I will not allow that. We will no more come and give a diplomatic talk over here. This is the House where I have to stand and speak honestly, that my community – we are proud Indians. It is my property, not given by anyone. You cannot snatch it away from me. Waqf is a form of worship for me,” he added.

Asserting that the bill will hinder the nation’s progress, Owaisi further said, “You want to make India ‘Viksit Bharat’, we want ‘Viksit Bharat’. You want to take this country back to the ’80s and early ’90s, it will be your responsibility.”

What Does Waqf Mean In Islamic Law?

Waqf in Islamic law refers to property dedicated to religious or charitable purposes, such as funding mosques or supporting the needy. Once designated as waqf, the property cannot be sold, inherited, or transferred, with its income supporting the intended causes.

A key issue in the new Bill is the proposal to allow non-Muslims to serve on important waqf bodies like the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards. This departs from the 1995 Act, which restricted these roles to Muslims, and also includes provisions for women and non-Muslim members.

Opposition MPs Protest Against The Waqf (Amendment) Bill

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8 2024. The bill was referred for consultation to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee, chaired by BJP leader Jagdambika Pal. So far, 572 amendments have been proposed to the draft bill by the committee.

On February 3, opposition MPs Kalyan Banerjee (Lok Sabha) and Md. Nadimul Haque (Rajya Sabha) strongly opposed the removal of key portions from their dissent notes submitted to the JCP on the bill.

In their letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the MPs accused that their objections were deleted without any prior notice or explanation.

“To our dismay and utter surprise, we found that the following objectives and dissent notes have been deleted by the Chairman without informing us and without our consent,” an excerpt from the letter dated February 3, 2025, read.