21 Killed at Sari Giveaway in India

Thousands of people crowding into a park to celebrate a politician’s birthday and receive free saris touched off a stampede Monday, killing 21 women and children, officials said.

The incident came two weeks ahead of parliamentary elections in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state and a key constituency of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Thousands of people, mostly women, had gathered under a huge white canopy to celebrate the birthday of Lalji Tandon of Vajpayee’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and to receive saris -- lengthy strips of often brightly colored cloth used as traditional attire by women.

Indian politicians commonly give away food, liquor, blankets and other gifts at election time to attract crowds and win votes.

“We came with the hope that we would hear his speech. He celebrated his birthday and gave us death,” Ketaki Devi, who ran out of the park to save herself, told reporters. “I saw several women fall down. They didn’t get up.”

The stampede began when rumors spread that there were no more saris.

The main opposition Congress Party said the distribution of saris amounted to luring voters and was a violation of the code of conduct set by the Election Commission.

Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy said in New Delhi that his officials were collecting information on the incident.