Lalu Yadav’s remark, “‘Faaltu hai Kumbh’,” sparked controversy after he seemingly dismissed the Kumbh Mela gathering as “useless” following the Delhi stampede

Lalu Prasad sparked a controversy on Sunday after he called the maha kumbh  (meaningless)”. His remarks came while commenting on the  in which 18 people lost their lives and many were left injured as passengers rushed to board trains bound for Prayagraj.

When asked to comment on the large crowds heading to the mega religious gathering and suggestions for crowd management, Prasad said, “Kumbh ka kahan koi matlab hai. Faltu hai Kumbh (Is there any meaning to Kumbh?… It is just meaningless).”

Bihar BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma said it has exposed the RJD’s mindset towards the Hindu religion.

“He is making such comments due to his politics of appeasement. The RJD leaders have always insulted the religious sentiments of Hindus. The latest statement by Lalu Prasad, calling the Maha Kumbh meaningless, exposes the party’s mindset towards the Hindu religion,” Sharma was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha alleged that the RJD supremo is doing politics over the incident and said, “He has always attacked Sanatan dharma, and their mindset is clearly reflected in their attitude towards Sanatan Dharma and its religious leaders. These people have even abandoned their own values for the sake of appeasement.”

At least 18 people were killed in the overnight stampede at the packed New Delhi Railway Station after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a footover bridge. More than a dozen people were also injured. The Delhi Police said that the initial probe found that the incident happened as passengers got confused between the prayagraj express and the and the prajagraj special  when the announcement of the latter’s arrival was made

The announcement of the ‘Prayagraj Special’ arriving at Platform 16 led to confusion among the waiting passengers because the Prayagraj Express was already at Platform 14. People who were reaching Platform 14 thought their train was arriving at Platform 16 and rushed towards it, leading to the stampede, police said.

A high level committee has been formed  to probe the incident. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh each has been announced by the Railways for the families of those killed in the stampede. Those seriously injured will get Rs 2.5 lah each and those with minor injuries Rs 1 lakh each.