Kolkata, Feb 25 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, clarified to the media persons her point on the recent controversies over her comments in the Assembly earlier this month, describing "Maha Kumbh" at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh as "Mrityu Kumbh".
However, throughout her interaction with the media persons, she did not utter that controversial word even once on Tuesday.
"I have nothing to say about those who went for the holy bath at Maha Kumbh. I have great regard for them. I have respect for all religions. I talked about the lack of planning there. But my statements were distorted and said all sorts of negative things. I want to tell them that all you said was untrue," the Chief Minister told media persons.
According to her, accidents can happen.
"But the people suffer if the accident takes place because of negligence. People also suffer if there is a lack of proper planning in handling the crisis after the accident. I request the Uttar Pradesh government to hand over the compensation announced by them to the affected families at the earliest," the Chief Minister said.
This is for the first time that the Chief Minister has commented on the controversies arising over her statement made earlier this month on the floor of the Assembly during the ongoing first phase of the Budget Session of the House.
However, last week, a senior Trinamool Congress leader and a member of the state Cabinet, Manas Ranjan Bhunia, came forward in defence of Chief Minister Banerjee over the matter and claimed that the Chief Minister's comment was picked up selectively and out of contest.
"No one in the state government had made any attempts to malign the Maha Kumbh. The Chief Minister, too, had not criticised the event. She has spoken about the loss of life because of the administrative mismanagement there. In addition, a Central report has reported high-level faecal bacteria in the river water at Prayagraj," Bhunia claimed.
Following the statements made by the Chief Minister on the floor of the House she came under all-round criticism from different corners of the country.
--IANS
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