Pushkaralu tragedy report: A political science reckoner or TDP note?

Three years after Andhra Pradesh witnessed the worst stampede at a religious event, which killed 29 people and injured scores of others, a report on the incident has been finally submitted. 

On July 14, 2015, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, along with his family members, participated in the rituals at Pushkar Ghat near Rajahmundry on the first day of the Maha Pushkaram. Soon after, a stampede occurred at the spot as the devotees rushed towards river Godavari to take a holy dip. The deadly incident invited the wrath of the opposition parties who blamed the chief minister for keeping the devotees waiting which resulted in a mad rush. On September 15, 2015, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government appointed Justice C.Y. Somayajulu, a retired High Court judge, to probe the incident.

The 17-page report of the Somayajulu Commission has some unusual observations, bordering on lecturing. For instance, the following excerpt on media makes one wonder why it was included in the first place, and how it is related to the incident.

“The media, which became an important instrument of publicity and promotion of products and personalities, brought its own share of misery and inconvenience to the public at large. An American author, whose book became a bestseller in the later part of the 19th century, observed that visual media can brainwash the viewers by repeat telecasts of visuals. They proved to be very true. Mushrooming of all types of news and devotional channels, which have their own captive viewers, also recorded their phenomenal growth in this century. Print, audio and visual media started making money through advertisements and became money-spinners. Many popular devotional channels, who have a large viewership, tried to encash this good opportunity.”

The above lines in no way provide answers to the exact cause of the incident. 

The opposition parties which criticised the government, too, were taken to task, but in an academic way. 

“Contemporary situation reveals that the parties who are not in power, or the parties who are not friendly, or who are at loggerheads with the party in rule, or their leaders, seize any and every opportunity and event, calamity or untoward incident to cast aspersions on the party in power. They become intolerant even to a single lapse.” 

The commission also had some gems for witnesses and those who approached it with complaints. It said that the affidavits were gathered with a view of finding fault with the chief minister, which clearly showed that this was an attempt to gain publicity and nothing else.

Coming to the most important findings, the commission had this to say about the ruling party. 

“The fact that the chief minister extended his stay for the entire period of Pushkarams, and monitored the conduct of Pushkarams, and no other incidents took place anywhere in the area shows that proper arrangements for Pushkarams were made."

According to the report, the chief minister had finished his bath and entered his van after which the stampede took place. The report explains the auspicious occasion and the reason for crowding at the venue, and points fingers at some lapses in the arrangements. The report also does not give a convincing reply to the allegations of the opposition parties that the incident occurred because the chief minister had spent two and a half hours at the ghats, as one international TV channel was filming him, causing severe inconvenience to the devotees.