Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has put up a condition for him to apologise over his comment that "thousands died" in the stampede at the Maha Kumbh venue in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
The tragedy that happened due to crowding at the Maha Kumbh on January 29 during the amrit snan or mauni amavasya - considered an auspicious day for holy dips - killed 30 people and left at least 60 injured, the authorities have said.
They said a massive crowd heading towards the ghat to take holy dips broke down barricades, leading to the stampede.
Mr Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, however, in what was seen as an attempt to not accept the number of dead that was reported by the authorities, said the "thousand deaths" at the Maha Kumbh was his own estimate.
"I pay my tributes to the people who died in Maha Kumbh... the thousands who died in Kumbh," he said, leading to the protests by members of the ruling alliance.
"This is my estimate and if this is not right, you [government] should tell what is the truth," Mr Kharge said.
"I did not say 'thousands' to blame anyone. But how many people died, give that information at least. I will apologise if I am wrong. They should give figures, how many died, how many are missing," Mr Kharge added.
His comment drew loud protests from the treasury benches, and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked him to retract his comment.
"The LoP [Leader of Opposition] has indicated a scenario using figures to the extent of thousands. I appeal to him, in this house, whatever is spoken, carries great weight. You have spoken something which has numbed everyone," Mr Dhankhar said.
"A message that goes from here, even if it is contradicted, goes to the whole world. Can you go to that extent? I would appeal to you as one of the senior-most leaders of this country, if you put a figure in thousands, I can only appeal to your conscience," Mr Dhankar said.
The Opposition parties have alleged the Centre and the UP government of not paying enough attention to safety at the Maha Kumbh venue when it was anticipated that huge crowds would come to take holy dips on certain auspicious days.
Today too, lakhs of devotees took holy dips in the Triveni Sangam at the Maha Kumbh in the early hours, marking the beginning of the third amrit snan on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami.
The authorities overseeing the arrangements expect at least three crore people to take the holy dip by the end of the day. To ensure enough personnel are available to manage the crowd, the authorities have engaged every available hand.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been monitoring the situation since 3.30 am from the "war room" at his Lucknow home, said officials.
At least 270 trainee Indian Police Service (IPS) officers including 77 women officers came to Prayagraj to help out. The authorities restricted VVIP movements a day before any major snan (bath) day and on the day of the snan.
People have been encouraged to take the holy dip at any of the ghats and not insist on going to any particular one as it may lead to crowding.
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