Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where 121 people have been killed in a stampede during a religious congregation two days ago, senior party leader K C Venugopal said .
Terming the tragedy as an “unfortunate incident”, Venugopal, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) said Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will interact with the affected people during his visit. The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a judicial probe into the Hathras tragedy.
Police have lodged an FIR against the organizers of the congregation, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions, with 2.5 lakh people gathering for the event, exceeding the permitted capacity of 80,000.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai told PTI that Gandhi will also meet the family members of the victims.
“Our leader Rahul Gandhi will visit Hathras on Friday. He will meet the family members of the victims of the incident,” said Rai.
Earlier in the day, Rai blamed the state government for the incident. The stampede occurred at the satsang of self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as Bhole Baba, on Tuesday.
This will be the first visit of a senior opposition leader to Hathras since the incident took place. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Hathras on Wednesday and met the victims.
