Uttar Pradesh: After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP for failing to recover the 30 bodies from the Maha Kumbh stampede, which she called the ‘Mrityu’ Kumbh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hit back.

During the Uttar Pradesh assembly, Adityanath called the Bengal CM’s remarks “baseless allegations” and said that she was “playing with the faith of these 56 crore people.”

Hitting back at Banerjee, the chief minister asked, “But how is it appropriate to politicise this?”

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He said it was the “good fortune” of the Uttar Pradesh government (led by the BJP) to “associate with the Maha Kumbh of this century.”

Offering condolences to the families of the deceased who were killed in the January 29 stampede, and those died in road accidents while traveling to Prayagraj for Kumbh, he said, “We will help them in every possible way.”

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav supported Banerjee and said, “People from her state also lost their lives. People had come from Bengal and other states. Even an FIR has not been registered. Who was responsible for making all the arrangements?”

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During the Bengal assembly, Banerjee had criticised the BJP’s failure. “This is the ‘Mrityu’ (death) Kumbh… I respect the Maha Kumbh, and I respect Ganga maa… But there is no planning. How many people’s bodies have been recovered?” she asked.

Criticising the arrangements, she drew comparisons with how the VIPs and common people were treated.

“For the rich, the VIPs… there are systems available to get tents after paying as much as Rs 1 lakh. But for the poor, there are no arrangements made. A stampede can happen in large public gatherings, yes. But it’s important to make arrangements. What planning did you make?” she asked.

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At least 30 people were killed in the stampede on January 29. Half of the death toll comprised of women and children.

The opposition accused the state government of disregarding the needs of the crores of devotees to cater for VIP and VVIP visits, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last week.