Tirupati stampede: Jagan accuses Naidu of diverting police force to Kuppam

YSRCP chief consoles devotees injured in stampede, seeks suitable compensation for them

Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused the government of ‘diverting’ the district police force to Kuppam for the personal visit of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu from January 6 to 8.

Speaking to the media along with his former Cabinet colleague R.K. Roja, after visiting the SVIMS hospital where the injured were being treated on Thursday (January 9, 2025), he said the diversion of police forces had left no backup arrangements for managing the Vaikunta Ekadasi crowd.

In the hospital, Mr. Jagan learnt from the devotees about the situation that had led to the stampede and the likely reasons behind it.

Convoy stopped

Earlier, even as Mr. Jagan reached the city and was proceeding towards SVIMS, local police intercepted his convoy at Tiruchanur and appealed to him to delay his visit to the hospital by 30 minutes, as the Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan was already there. The appeal by the police was apparently to prevent untoward clashes between the cadre of both leaders.

However, Mr. Jagan alighted from his bulletproof car and got into an alternative vehicle arranged by Chandragiri former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy to reach SVIMS. Even as his vehicle entered the hospital premises, Mr. Pawan Kalyan was addressing the media at the venue. The cadres of both parties raised slogans such as ‘Jai Jagan’ and ‘Jai Jana Sena’ that vitiated the atmosphere.

Mr. Jagan demanded that the government fix accountability on those responsible for the incident and provide suitable compensation for the victims. Attributing the stampede to ‘government negligence’, Mr. Jagan demanded filing of an FIR under section 105 of BNS.

Published - January 09, 2025 09:25 pm IST