Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 30 (ANI): Congress MP Randeep Surjewala slammed the BJP government over the issue of the Jagannath Puri stampede and asked when the 'VIP syndrome' in the country will cease.

Expressing his condolences towards the victims of the Puri stampede, the Congress MP stated that during the Jagannath Rath Yatra celebrations, there was a 'blockage' of entry for the devotees on account of 'VIP' entry.

Three people lost their lives in the Gundicha temple stampede on Sunday; meanwhile, several were left injured. The Odisha government have ordered a probe into the matter and has announced financial help of Rs 25 lakh for the victims of the stampede.

'First and foremost, let me express my heartfelt condolences to every family of devotees who have lost their loved ones in the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri... Various facts have been brought out in the media. It seems that there was a blockage of the entry on account of a VIP entry. ', Randeep Surjewala told reporters in Bengaluru.

Referring to the criticism by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders over the Bengaluru stampede, Randeep Surjewala stressed that the BJP must ask about the Bengaluru stampede, as there needs to be a 'fixation' of accountability, which the Karnataka government has not done.

He stated that every life in the country is 'important' and the incident cannot be considered as 'your tragedy versus my tragedy syndrome', Surjewala said.

The Congress leader mentioned that 'lessons' shall be learned from the previous stampede incidents and steps should be taken in order to avoid such incidents in the future. Surjewala suggested that every state should set up a State Crowd Safety Task Force, out of which 50 per cent should be contributed by the Union Government for its formation.

'I have suggested today that we must learn lessons from the 3 tragedies and take steps in order to ensure no such tragedy ever takes place. The first step is setting up a State Crowd Safety Task Force. Every state must have an SCSTF, and the government of India must contribute 50% of the cost of setting up such a task force', the Congress leader said.

He mentioned that the task force must comprise police, home guards, the disaster management authority, local bodies, and organisers. The Congress leader informed that he has raised the issue in front of the Karnataka CM and suggested that the Union Government must take note following the Puri Rath Yatra tragedy.

'These are some of the issues that I proposed to raise with the Karnataka CM and the government of Karnataka to put in place. The government of India, PM Modi, Union HM Amit Shah should now take note post the tragedy of the Puri Rath Yatra and put in place these protocols and commit to finances for every state for a crowd management state-level task force', he said. (ANI)