Stampede result of Chandrababu’s craze for publicity: AP Home minister

Conveying her condolences to bereaved families, Home Minister Taneti Vanita wondered how a person claiming 40 years in industry failed to realise road shows should not be held in narrow lanes.

Kovvuru: The craze for publicity of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu led to the tragic incident where eight people died in a stampede in Kandukuru of Nellore district on Wednesday night, alleged Home Minister Taneti Vanita.

Conveying her condolences to the bereaved families here on Thursday, she wondered how a person claiming 40 years in industry and functioned 14 years as Chief Minister failed to realise road shows should not be held in narrow lanes. In this context, she also recalled that his same craze for publicity claimed 29 lives in Godavari Pushkarams in the past.

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The minister also took exception to Chandrababu’s reported plea to the people to stay back after the incident, saying that he would return after a short while and address them. “What does this mean? Chandrababu is trying hard to gain public sympathy. We have registered a case in connection with the incident,” she said.

According to police, Chandrababu did not conduct the meeting at the venue for which permission was granted and he had proceeded a further 45 metres to where the crowd surged, resulting in stampede.