Sharad Pawar has questioned how the ACS can conduct the probe when his higher-ups — including cabinet ministers, the chief minister and deputy chief minister — had organised the event. (PTI)
Reports suggest that despite spending a huge amount of Rs 13 crore, the organisers had not kept enough stalls for drinking water and no arrangements for sheds and ‘pandals’ was made for the crowd that had gathered to witness the event in Kharghar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has demanded a judicial inquiry into the April 16 Kharghar mishap in which 14 people lost their lives due to a heat stroke during the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’ award ceremony organised by the state government.
The state government had formed a one-member committee of the Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue Department to look into the incident and the panel has been given one month to submit its report.
However, Pawar has questioned how the ACS can conduct the probe when his higher-ups — including cabinet ministers, the chief minister and deputy chief minister — had organised the event. “We want a judicial inquiry into this incident. Actual facts should come out regarding this mishap,” he said.
The Opposition has also raised questions about the expenditure on the event. According to news reports, the government spent approximately Rs 13 crore on the event. Reports also suggest that despite spending the huge amount, the organisers had not kept enough stalls for drinking water and no arrangements of sheds and ‘pandals’ was made for the crowd that had gathered to witness the event in Kharghar.
A few days ago, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction met Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais and demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident. The delegation called the mishap ‘man-made’ and said it had tarnished the image of the state. The delegation also alleged that the government is trying to hide facts and accountability should be fixed as 14 innocent people have lost their lives. It handed over a memorandum to the governor, demanding that the state government be directed to register a case of culpable homicide.
The Congress has also slammed the state government for its mismanagement and undertaken a programme in all districts to tell people about the state’s role in the mishap. The Congress has demanded a special session of the state assembly. According to a top source in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, there is a demand that the government call an all-party meeting and present the facts instead of hiding them.
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