BJP today blamed administrative "lapse" of the Bihar government for the stampede near the historic Gandhi Maidan here on Dusshera festival which claimed 33 lives and left 29 persons injured.
Blaming the administration for the incident, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav said, "The loss of 33 lives is due to the failure of administration. The arrangements for 'Ravana Vadh' ceremony at Gandhi Maidan were very slack in comparison to the huge crowd that attends it."
Yadav said the state government has ordered probe in the incident just to 'save its face' and should take action against all officials who were involved in making arrangements for the event.
"The way Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harshvardhan showed their concern, was not seen in the state ministers. Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi took five hours to reach the hospital to see the injured."
The state government, he said, did not learn any lesson from the 2012 stampede during Chhath festival when 21 persons were crushed to death.
Criticising the JD(U) government, Bihar BJP president Mangal Pandey said it seemed as if "a dead government was working in the state."
"I attended the function and saw how poor the administrative arrangements were. A majority of the crowd attending the Ravana Vadh ceremony exits from the western gate of Gandhi Maidan. Had the police been present there in good strength, the tragedy could have been averted," he added.
BJP leaders held a candlelight meeting to pay homage to the deceased at Ram Gulam Chowk, the place where the incident occured.
A daylong dharna would be held by the party here on October 6 to highlight the lapses of the adminsitration and protest against the alleged poor arrangements in and around Gandhi Maidan during the 'Ravan Vadh' ceremony leading to the loss of lives, the party sources said.
